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UNITED NATIONS — When Jeff Bartos appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2025 for his confirmation hearing, he was warned that the job he was seeking might not exist.
The Pennsylvania businessman, former political candidate and endurance athlete had been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador for United Nations Management and Reform — a title that has long sounded aspirational in a building famous for bureaucracy.
During his confirmation hearing, Bartos recalled being greeted with a dose of skepticism.
" U.N. reform? That's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one," lawmakers told him.
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When Jeff Bartos appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2025 for his confirmation hearing, he was warned that the job he was seeking might not exist. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Less than a year later, Bartos believes the impossible is beginning to happen.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the Trump administration official laid out an ambitious campaign to reshape an institution critics say has become bloated, inefficient and increasingly disconnected from its founding mission.
The effort comes at a pivotal moment for the United Nations. The stakes extend well beyond budgets. As the U.N. confronts a cash crunch, prepares to choose its next secretary-general and faces growing scrutiny from the administration, the debate over reform has become a battle over the institution's future: whether it remains on its current course or undergoes its most significant restructuring in decades.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Feb. 28, 2026, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. (Heather Khalifa/Reuters)
Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned of a growing liquidity crisis as the organization struggles with delayed member-state payments, including billions owed by the United States. At the same time, the Trump administration has made clear that future funding and support will be increasingly tied to reforms.
Bartos argues that pressure is already producing results.
Sitting at the U.N. headquarters, he points to what he calls historic achievements: roughly $570 million cut from the U.N.'s regular budget and 2,900 positions eliminated through negotiations among all 193 member states.
"Again, never happened before in 80 years," Bartos said.
"$570 million cut to the regular budget, approximately 3,000 posts cut. Unanimity. That's by consensus. All 193 countries had to come together."
For Bartos, the achievement is particularly striking because many diplomats viewed meaningful reform as impossible.
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As the U.N. confronts a cash crunch, prepares to choose its next secretary-general and faces growing scrutiny from the administration, the debate over reform has become a battle over the institution's future. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"I promised you we wouldn't let you down," he recalled telling Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch months after his confirmation.
The reforms represent only what Bartos describes as a "down payment." The next phase is already underway.
As member states negotiate peacekeeping budgets for the coming year, the administration is pushing to reduce spending, streamline missions and eliminate programs it believes no longer serve their intended purpose.
One example, Bartos said, involves changing how the U.N. reimburses countries that contribute equipment to peacekeeping missions .
Previously, reimbursement was largely based on whether equipment was present.
"The methodology that the U.N. used to reimburse troop-contributing countries for equipment was: 'Is it there?'" Bartos said.
The United States pushed for a simple change: "You get reimbursed when the equipment is put into action to do work."
The reform could save roughly $30 million annually, according to U.S. estimates.
For Bartos, however, the dollar figure matters less than what it represents.
"It's a culture change," he said. "Being efficient, being respectful of every dollar, thinking about the taxpayers who fund all this."
That mindset is driving the administration's next major targets: employee compensation and pensions.
Bartos argues that the U.N.'s pension system and benefits structure consume resources that could otherwise be directed toward humanitarian operations.
Not everyone at the United Nations agrees with Bartos' assessment. U.N. officials argue that many of the reforms predate the Trump administration and were already being pursued under Guterres.
"From day one, the secretary-general has been committed to reforms," U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told…
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