Fireside with Ambassador Mike Waltz

This conversation was part of the 2026 Meridian Summit: Shaping American Influence.

Watch

On October 16, 2026, Meridian International Center held the 15th annual Meridian Summit and welcomed Ambassador Mike Waltz, U.S. representative to the United Nations, for a virtual fireside conversation alongside Deborah Lehr, Chair, Board of Trustees at Meridian. The discussion examined the United States’ role in the world, the future of the United Nations, and the administration’s growing focus on the Western Hemisphere. 

Ambassador Waltz outlined a vision for American diplomacy that pairs international engagement with greater accountability from allies and multilateral institutions. He argued that the United Nations remains an essential diplomatic forum, but must become leaner, more focused, and better equipped to prevent conflict. 

Here are the Top Takeaways from the Program:

1. U.N. REFORM MUST MOVE FROM STUDIES TO RESULTS

Ambassador Waltz called for the United Nations to return to its core mission of preventing conflict and maintaining international peace and security. He argued that decades of studies have not translated into sufficient institutional change, leaving overlapping mandates, duplicative programs and an expanding bureaucracy. His reform agenda calls for consolidating similar functions, strengthening accountability and focusing resources on programs that produce measurable results. In congressional testimony, Ambassador Waltz noted that the U.N. budget had quadrupled over 25 years without a corresponding improvement in global peace and security.  

2. BUDGET CUTS ARE INTENDED TO MAKE THE U.N. MORE EFFECTIVE, NOT IRRELEVANT

Ambassador Waltz described budget discipline as a tool for forcing long-delayed reforms rather than abandoning the United Nations. He pointed to reductions in headquarters staffing and efforts to eliminate duplication, move personnel closer to communities in need, and direct more funding toward frontline delivery. The broader U.N. reform process has proposed more than $500 million in reductions to the organization’s 2026 regular budget, along with an 18.8% reduction in posts compared with 2025. The test will be whether these cuts streamline administration without weakening the organization’s ability to fulfill its core mandates.  

3. THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE IS MOVING TO THE CENTER OF U.S. STRATEGY

Ambassador Mike Waltz predicted that the Western Hemisphere would become a defining focus of U.S. foreign policy, connecting engagement in the region to supply chains, critical minerals, strategic infrastructure, and transnational crime. That shift is already taking shape through the Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-led regional initiative that brings governments together around economic cooperation, security and coordination in multilateral forums. Participating countries have committed to improving intelligence sharing, safeguarding critical-mineral supply chains, promoting trusted infrastructure, and coordinating action against transnational criminal organizations. The initiative illustrates the administration’s broader effort to treat developments from the Arctic to the Panama Canal and South America as interconnected U.S. economic and national security priorities.  

4. COMPETITION WITH CHINA REQUIRES COOPERATION WITHOUT DEPENDENCE

Ambassador Waltz acknowledged that the deep economic ties between the world’s two largest economies make the U.S.-China relationship fundamentally different from past rivalries. While trade and economic engagement must continue, he argued that the United States cannot remain dependent on China for products and technologies that could become national security vulnerabilities during a crisis. The administration’s approach is therefore to rebalance the relationship by bringing strategic supply chains home where possible and, where domestic production is impractical, securing access through trusted allies and partners in the Western Hemisphere. From critical minerals and pharmaceuticals to energy and the technology supply chain, Ambassador Waltz called for a whole-of-government approach that recognizes economic security as national security. 

5. THE U.N. STILL PROVIDES AN IRREPLACEABLE FORUM FOR DIPLOMACY

Despite his criticism of the institution, Ambassador Waltz rejected the idea that the United Nations has lost its value. He described it as the only forum where nearly every country can meet under a common international framework, including when governments strongly disagree. For the United States, reforming the institution is therefore preferable to surrendering a platform through which Washington can help mediate disputes, build coalitions and pursue peaceful solutions. His central message was that preserving the U.N.’s diplomatic role requires reducing bureaucracy while strengthening the functions that help prevent conflict.