The U.S. Institute of Peace—established by Congress in 1984—is petitioning a federal judge to halt actions initiated by President Donald J. Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which they describe as an illegal attempt to seize control of the institute. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges a “takeover by force” and aims to prevent what the institute characterizes as a “lawless assault.”
The conflict escalated on Monday when police assisted in removing institute staff from their Washington headquarters. This followed actions by the White House to reorganize the institute’s leadership, including naming a new acting president.
Last month, President Trump enacted an executive order mandating the institute downsize its activities to a “statutory minimum.” However, institute officials argue that the Trump White House lacks the authority to dismantle its operations, arguing that the institute is a congressionally chartered NGO and not technically part of the executive branch.
Central to the institute’s legal argument is the claim that the executive order wrongly identifies it as a “government entity.” The suit accuses the Elon Musk-led DOGE staff of trying to seize control of the institute’s infrastructure, including sensitive computer systems.
The Justice Department (DOJ) countered these assertions by maintaining that the institute is indeed a government entity and that the President is empowered to replace board members.
