A journalist points his camera at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2025. Cost-slashers of US President Donald Trump seized control on March 17 of the institute, ousting the leader of the taxpayer-funded center for conflict re
WASHINGTON – A federal district judge declared that actions by the Department of Government Efficiency to take over the U.S. Institute of Peace were “unlawful” and had to be declared “null and void.”
What we know:
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled on Monday that “the removal of USIP’s president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP’s staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration” were “effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void.”
Howell ruled that USIP was illegally taken over by DOGE through “blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.”
What’s next:
Howell wrote in her decision that USIP Acting President George Moose would continue as president of the organization, along with the reinstatement of other USIP board members who had been forced out.
The appointments of Kenneth Jackson and Nate Cavanaugh as presidents of USIP were declared “invalid.” Also struck down was the relocation of USIP’s headquarters from 2301 Constitution Avenue in D.C. to the General Services Administration.
The backstory:
USIP was created and funded by Congress to focus on resolving violent conflicts around the globe.
An executive order in February declared the agency “unnecessary.”
The organization was taken over by DOGE in March. The organization’s former board members and president filed a lawsuit in response, maintaining that the Institute of Peace was established by law as an independent, nonprofit organization.