‘Illegal Takeover’: DOGE Seizes Control of Independent Org Dedicated to Peace

More than 40 years ago, Congress established the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) as an “independent, nonprofit, national institute” to “promote international peace and the resolution of conflicts.”

The Department of Government Efficiency just took it over.

“What has happened here today is an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch of a private nonprofit,” USIP’s now-fired CEO George Moose told the Associated Press and others Monday, following a police standoff that ended in DOGE officials entering the building.

Moose said the building is not federally owned and that its employees do not work for the executive branch, putting its operations outside of DOGE’s purview. “Somehow, all of those arguments have not prevailed,” said Moose, who promised to bring legal action against DOGE, which he said “has broken into our building.”

USIP had been included on a list of “unnecessary governmental entit[ies]” in a February executive order focused on “the reduction of the federal bureaucracy.” DOGE staffers and two FBI officials previously tried to enter the building on Friday, according to the AP, but were turned away due to what USIP called its “private and independent status.” On Monday, when the DOGE officials returned, a lawyer for the institute called the police alleging that they were trespassing, The New York Times reported. But the police wound up clearing the building so DOGE officials could enter instead.

Before the standoff, the Trump administration fired most of the institute’s 11-member board, according to the AP, leaving only three remaining members: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Defense University President Peter Garvin. In a statement to the AP, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said, “Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage. The Trump administration will enforce the President’s executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people.”

Prior to the takeover, USIP had apparently sought to align how it frames its work with the Trump administration’s priorities. As recently as November, its website said its mission was to work in conflict zones “to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict.” By late February, the website touted USIP’s potential to “reduce the risk that the United States will be drawn into costly foreign wars.” About a week later, it added that this could help curb “terrorism, criminal gangs and migration.” Apparently, it wasn’t enough.

USIP isn’t the only entity facing deep cuts this week. According to The Washington Post, the administration is also considering cutting a quarter of the staff at an IRS watchdog that identifies challenges taxpayers are facing, proposes fixes, and helps taxpayers work through them.

Meanwhile, a leaked memo obtained by Axios, suggests that DOGE could soon prevent Social Security beneficiaries from verifying their identities by phone, requiring them instead to complete the process at a local field office. By the memo’s own admission, Axios reported, that could create a barrier particularly for rural Americans and strain Social Security offices. An early version of the memo reportedly acknowledged that “the consequence of reduced service channels could be significant.”