Judge strikes down DOGE takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace

The US Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., on March 18. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP - Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — A federal district judge on Monday tossed out the takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, declaring that actions by "illegitimately-installed leaders" were "unlawful" and had to be declared "null and void."

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled 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."

The decision came two months after a dramatic showdown at the building's headquarters in Washington, when the acting head of the Institute of Peace issued a statement saying that "DOGE has broken into out building." After members of the DOGE team took over the building with the help of law enforcement. most U.S. Institute of Peace employees were subsequently laid off.

Howell wrote in her decision that USIP Acting President George Moose would continue to serve as president of the organization and banned defendants from "further trespass against the real and personal property belonging to the Institute and its employees, contractors, agents, and other representatives."

The U.S. Institute of Peace was founded under President Ronald Reagan, and Howell wrote that it is "unique in its structure and function" because it was neither a "traditional Executive branch agency nor an entirely private nonprofit corporation."

It supports both the executive and legislative branches "as an independent think tank that carries out its own international peace research, education and training, and information services," Howell continued.

The judge contended that the Trump administration "rushed through action" to shut down DOGE without consulting Congress and used "blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies" to enact Trump's executive order.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.