Trump Admin's Plans for $500 Million USIP Building May Violate Court Order, Say Former Workers

Last year, the Trump medication and members of the alleged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) forcibly took implicit the US Institute of Peace (USIP), an autarkic nonprofit. Since then, the organization’s fired committee and employees person been warring to regain power of the USIP gathering successful Washington, DC and for the reinstatement of their jobs successful a drawn-out tribunal battle.

Now, successful a missive sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), representatives connected behalf of the USIP’s fired committee and president allege that the medication is violating a court-issued enactment by making carnal changes to the gathering and, arsenic the missive claims, moving up with caller agreements. Specifically, the missive asks for accusation connected whether the State Department has signed an statement to usage the gathering for the “Board of Peace,” a caller planetary enactment nether the idiosyncratic beingness power of President Donald Trump that seeks to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

“They're acting nether the enactment arsenic though they person a licence to usage the building, to usage money, to dainty the gathering immoderate mode they want,” says George Foote, counsel for erstwhile USIP enactment and staff. “A enactment is not support for the loser of a lawsuit to hijack the spot of the winning party.”

On March 17, 2025 members of DOGE arrived astatine USIP and forced their mode into the $500 cardinal building; soon after, the Trump medication fired astir of the organization’s board. USIP, though created and funded by Congress, is an autarkic entity, not a national agency. This did not halt Trump from issuing an enforcement bid purporting to fundamentally adjacent USIP.

In May, a tribunal held that the administration’s takeover of USIP’s gathering and firing of its unit were unlawful; the adjacent month, an appeals tribunal issued a enactment connected that ruling. This returned the gathering to the administration’s power portion a national appeals lawsuit is ongoing.

In December, the Trump medication renamed the gathering the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, adjacent affixing the president’s sanction to its edifice. But this, apparently, was lone the beginning.

According to the letter, “USIP’s existent acting president has precocious signed a ten-year

memorandum of knowing (‘MOU’) with the State Department, nether which hundreds of State Department employees volition determination into USIP’s building.” The missive alleges that nether the presumption of this agreement, USIP volition beryllium liable for the building’s upkeep and information costs, and the State Department volition beryllium indemnified against work for harm to USIP property. To accommodate an influx of caller people, the missive alleges, “construction is already underway to modify moving spaces successful the USIP building.” These renovations, the missive argues, could “impose substantial, expensive, and unwarranted obstacles” should USIP yet triumph backmost power of the gathering successful the last tribunal case.

Which State Department unit would beryllium housed astatine the USIP gathering is unclear, but a presumption fixed astatine the World Economic Forum by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has raised alarms connected the portion of USIP’s erstwhile unit and board. Kushner, who does person not a ceremonial relation successful the administration, utilized a descent platform to outline the plans for the caller “Board of Peace” and the redevelopment of Gaza; an representation of the USIP gathering was the last slide. The missive asks the authorities to “confirm whether the Administration has plans to location the ‘Board of Peace’ astatine the USIP office building.”

"The authorities does not person a licence to rename the USIP office gathering oregon lease it retired for 10 years. It surely has nary close to unfastened the gathering to a caller planetary enactment similar the projected Board of Peace,” says Foote.

The missive besides asks for confirmation of the funds that are successful USIP’s endowment, which Foote says helium is acrophobic whitethorn beryllium utilized “to remodel the gathering for purposes of that State Department lease, truthful utilizing our donor wealth for the payment of the State Department.”

The State Department did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.