Nikki Haley announces massive cut from United Nations budget — see how much taxpayers will save

Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, announced over the weekend that the U.S. had negotiated a massive cut to the U.N.’s operating budget.

What happened?

According to the New York Post, Haley announced on Sunday that her team successfully negotiated a $285 million cut to the U.N.’s biennial operating budget for the fiscal year 2018-2019.

Haley said in a statement:

The inefficiency and overspending of the United Nations are well known. We will no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked.

In addition to these significant cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key US priorities throughout the world and instilled more discipline and accountability throughout the UN system.

The U.N.’s operating budget covers a two-year period beginning each even-numbered year.

Was it what the U.S. wanted?

According to the Agence France-Presse, the U.S. envoy originally only sought a $250 million cut, which equated to about 5 percent of the U.N.’s operating budget.

That was on top of the $200 million savings already proposed by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who proposed capping the U.N.’s budget at $5.4 billion.

The AFP reported diplomats believed Haley’s proposal "would be nearly impossible to achieve."

The U.S. supplies 22 percent of the U.N.’s budget, which makes it the top contributing country. President Donald Trump wants taxpayers to pay the U.N. less and already helped negotiate a $600 million cut from the U.N.’s peacekeeping budget, which is separate from its operating budget.

Haley’s announcement came just days after her defiant speech slammed the U.N. for voting on a resolution to oppose Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.