Judge bars Trump administration from shutting peace institute that
sought to end violent conflicts
[May 20, 2025]
By GARY FIELDS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump
administration from moving forward with its dismantling of the U.S.
Institute of Peace, an organization taken over in March by Elon Musk’s
Department of Government Efficiency.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the think tank, which
was created and funded by Congress to focus on resolving violent
conflicts around the globe, was taken over illegally by DOGE through
“blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate
local and federal agencies.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by the organization’s former board
members and president, had maintained that the Institute of Peace was
established by law as an independent, nonprofit organization. The
plaintiffs also argue that the firing of the board members did not meet
any of the steps required by the law that created the organization.
The moves also did not go before any of the four congressional
committees that have oversight of the institute.
In her ruling, Howell cited the uniqueness of the organization, saying
the president “second-guessed” the judgment of Congress and President
Ronald Reagan in creating the institute 40 years ago, and the judgment
of every Congress since.
In an email, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “the United States
Institute of Peace has existed for 40 years on a $50 million annual
budget, but failed to deliver peace. President Trump is right to reduce
failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and this
rogue judge’s attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be
the last say on the matter.”
The administration has 30 days to file a notice of appeal.
Trump issued the executive order in February that targeted the institute
and three other agencies for closure in an effort to deliver on campaign
promises to shrink the size of the federal government. The first attempt
by DOGE to take over the headquarters led to a standoff. Members of
Musk’s DOGE group returned days later with the FBI and District of
Columbia Metropolitan Police to help them gain entry.
The institute and many of its board members sued the Trump
administration March 18, seeking to prevent their removal and to prevent
DOGE from taking over its operations. The firing of the board was
followed by a Friday night mass firing by email on March 28, which threw
the workforce into turmoil.
At the same time, DOGE transferred the administrative oversight of the
organization’s headquarters and assets to the General Services
Administration that weekend. Since then, employees were allowed to
retrieve personal items but computers, office tools and supplies and
furniture were left behind.
In reaching her opinion Howell concluded that the institute “ultimately
exercises no Executive branch power under the Constitution but operates,
through research, educational teaching, and scholarship, in the
sensitive area of global peace. In creating this organization, Congress
struck a careful balance between political accountability, on the one
hand, and partisan independence and stability, on the other.”
As such, “the Constitution makes clear that the President’s
constitutional authority only extends as far as Article II, but even
Article II does not grant him absolute removal authority over his
subordinates, under current binding caselaw precedent.”
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U.S. Institute of Peace employees hold an impromptu celebration on
the steps of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Monday, May 19, 2025, in
Washington, after federal district Judge Beryl A. Howell blocked the
Trump administration from moving forward with dismantling the
organization. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)
Howell said that because the removal of the board by the
administration was illegal, all subsequent actions are null and
void, including the firing of the staff and the transfer of the
headquarters to the General Services Administration.
The idea in creating the institute was for an organization that
would operate outside normal channels to work to promote peace and
prevent and end conflicts. At the time it was shuttered, the
institute operated in more than two dozen conflict zones, including
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Howell had denied two requests by the plaintiffs for restraining
orders — one to halt the firing of the board and another to stop the
administration from taking over the institute’s headquarters.
That ruling came after she held a status hearing and learned that
DOGE-installed leadership had already initiated and completed the
transfer of the headquarters before the plaintiffs could even get to
court. Howell equated the quick action to a bull in a China shop.
USIP's acting president and CEO, George Moose, said in a briefing
that the actions against the institute have had a traumatic impact
on the staff and people around the world who have worked with the
institute. “I don’t think there’s any question that this has caused
harm and damage, some of which in fact will be irreparable,” the
former U.S. ambassador said.
Moose said how quickly the staff can try to resume its work and
repair the damage depends on how the administration responds.
“We have an understanding that we once we return to the building,
the challenge of restarting and recovering and rebuilding is in
fact, going to take time,” he said. “We anticipate that we're going
to have to do this in phases starting out modestly” with what
resources are available.
As word of the court action spread an impromptu group of about two
dozens employees gathered in front of the headquarters and cheered
as parts of Howell’s ruling were read aloud. All understood it was
only the first step in what they expect to be a longer court battle
before they can return to work.
Tonis Montes, 36, who worked in the institute's Gandhi-King Global
Academy said she felt vindicated but “there's a lot to interpret in
the ruling. If it were up to us, we'd be in that building, getting
to work.”
Nicoletta Barbera, 36, and the acting director of the West Africa
and Central Africa programs, said she was ecstatic “but aware this
is just step one, but happy that some justice prevailed today.”
___
Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Thalia Beaty
contributed to this story.
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