US Republican Senators Launch Campaign for US Withdrawal from the United Nations
Senator Mike Lee, a representative of Utah in the US Senate, has introduced a bill titled “Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle Act of 2025” to end the US’s membership and financial support for the organization. The bill prohibits the US from participating in any peace negotiations involving the UN and requires Senate approval for any future re-entry into the organization or its subsidiary bodies.
The bill was posted on Mike Lee’s website and is co-sponsored by Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican. The bill is expected to be presented to the House of Representatives on February 21, with Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, leading the effort.
The motivations behind the bill include the belief that the UN does not represent the interests of American citizens and that its actions contradict the “America first” agenda of former President Donald Trump. The UN is seen as a platform that allows the US and its allies to be attacked and its opponents to be strengthened, according to Lee and Roy.
As an example, the bill’s proponents point to the recent controversy surrounding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was accused of being involved in a Hamas attack on the US ally Israel in October 2023.
Roy also criticizes the UN for failing to prevent wars, genocides, human rights abuses and pandemics despite receiving significant funding from its member states.
Public opinion on the UN in the US is split, with around 34% of Republicans holding a positive view of the organization, compared to 70% of Democrats.
Former President Donald Trump had previously made efforts to cut the US’s financial support for the UN and its subsidiary bodies and had issued a decree in his first term to withdraw the US from the UN Human Rights Council and halt funding for UNRWA. Mike Lee had previously introduced similar bills in the past, including in 2023.