President Donald Trump delivered a present to the American taxpayers on Christmas Eve, announcing a funding cut to the United Nations of nearly $300 million next year. While the cut is not exclusively to the benefit of American taxpayers, the United States is the biggest funder of the global body.

Nikki Haley, the Trump administration's ambassador to the U.N., revealed the cut in a news release on Sunday.

“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. This historic reduction in spending – in addition to many other moves toward a more efficient and accountable UN – is a big step in the right direction. While we are pleased with the results of this year’s budget negotiations, you can be sure we’ll continue to look at ways to increase the UN’s efficiency‎ while protecting our interests,” said Ambassador Haley.

The United Nations agreed to a total cut of $285 million in 2018-2019, compared to 2016-17.

The announced funding cut comes just days after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution denouncing the Trump administration for declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel and promising to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv. While the timing would appear to be connected, the cuts would have been under negotiation for some time and represent Trump's promise to scale back spending at the organization.

Speaking on Fox and Friends on Christmas morning, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz praised the decision as "the right thing."

“It’s the first of many steps I think she’ll take to bring the United Nations back to where it ought to be, a neutral arbiter of peace, not a place of hatred,” he said.  

Meanwhile, former ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told Fox News that this is a real opportunity for the Trump administration to look for other places to cut U.N. funding, declaring that some organizations inside the U.N. system don't deserve any funding.