After months of uncertainty and unfounded hopes, the decision has been made: The United States will leave the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in December 2026. "Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States," the State Department said in a brief statement issued on Tuesday, July 22. "UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy."

This departure carries financial consequences. The United States − as the largest contributor to the UN agency dedicated to education, science and culture − had been providing $75 million annually, which constituted about 8% of its $900 million budget. In anticipation of the US withdrawal, UNESCO had exercised caution in recent months by setting aside the US contribution for this year and reducing programs to prevent a funding shortfall. At this time, there are no planned layoffs among the organization's approximately 1,000 employees.

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