Leaked UN Reform Memo Draws Fire as Ex-Trump Official Calls Effort 'Eight and a Half Years Late'

The United Nations is facing some tough love from its own insiders, as a leaked document from the UN80 Task Force lays bare a laundry list of inefficiencies and bureaucratic headaches within the organization. The six-page confidential memo, now making the rounds, highlights how geopolitical shifts and slashed foreign aid budgets are putting the UN’s reputation and effectiveness to the test.

Hugh Dugan, a former National Security Council Special Assistant and Trump-era adviser, didn’t hold back: He called the reform push "eight and a half years late" and suggested Secretary-General António Guterres should step aside to let someone else overhaul the UN. Dugan’s not mincing words—he wants a new leader with a "fresh mandate" to shake things up.

The leaked document itself admits to "overlapping mandates, inefficient use of resources, and inconsistent delivery of services"—hardly a confidence booster. It suggests merging agencies, cutting high-level jobs, and streamlining the UN’s sprawling development system. The aim: do more with less (and, let’s be honest, stop playing musical chairs with job titles).

Dugan wasn’t impressed, likening the document to a "whiteboard stream of consciousness" you’d scribble on Day 1 of a corporate retreat. He flagged the lack of plans for recruiting world-class talent or holding leaders accountable with clear performance metrics. Basically, the UN’s brainstorming session skipped over the basics—like, you know, actually measuring if anything improves.

He also pointed out that the task force ignored vital confidence-building steps to keep member countries invested. Dugan argued that the current leadership is assuming they’re "the right people at the right time"—a move he called a "real shortcoming." Honestly, if confidence could be measured in coffee cups, the UN would be running on decaf right now.

For Dugan, the UN has faded from relevance, especially when it comes to real-world power plays between member states. He urged the organization to sort out what's working and scrap what isn't—after eight years, that's a lot of old furniture to haul out.

Meanwhile, the UN’s own spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric defended the reform memo as just one of several idea labs underway, echoing Guterres’ calls for "ambitious reform" and more transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Guterres has been singing this tune since 2017, but critics like Dugan say the lyrics haven’t changed—and neither has the bureaucracy.

With U.S. and other countries’ contributions to the UN potentially drying up, the organization is already feeling the squeeze. Earlier this year, budget issues even forced the closure of a staff entrance at UN headquarters in New York. If things don’t turn around soon, it might be more than just doors closing at the UN.