“Defund the police” became a popular rallying cry for far-left activists and politicians following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
The movement sought to take away funding traditionally given to law enforcement agencies and redirect it to other community organizations that supporters believed would better serve and protect the public.
Now, some Republican members of Congress are piggybacking on that phraseology in a new proposal to remove American funding from an international organization.
On Tuesday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that he would be filing a bill to defund the United Nations. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) responded to that post, saying he would do the same in the U.S. House of Representatives.
So will I 🙂 https://t.co/yMXJ6fF2nL
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 6, 2023
Since the proposals haven’t officially been introduced, it’s unclear exactly what will be in them. However, pulling U.S. funding from the U.N. will likely be a non-starter for all congressional Democrats — and even some Republicans, too.
The U.S., after all, is one of the founding member states of the U.N., which was established in June 1945 to maintain international security and peace following World War II.
Every member state provides funds to the international organization through assessed contributions, all of which go to pay for operating and capital expenses as well as that for staff members. As of 2021, the U.S. gave more than $12 billion to the U.N., which represented just less than 20% of its collective budget.
While this has been a long-standing practice in the U.S., it’s something that Lee and Roy want to change. The X account associated with Rep. Chip Roy Press Office posted a message explaining the congressman’s position this week, which read:
“The UN doesn’t deserve a single DIME of American taxpayer money.”
Maybe surprisingly, calls to defund the U.N. have been swirling recently. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis told attendees at a New Hampshire campaign event last month that the U.S. should pull its funding.
And Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., even said that all “honest” countries should defund the organization as well.
