A view of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) building headquarters on March 18 in Washington, D.C.
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A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s takeover of the United States Institute of Peace, saying the president exceeded his authority when he fired the board members and moved to dismantle the organization and its operations.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled the USIP president and board members were unlawfully fired by President Trump and should be reinstated. In her 102-page ruling, Howell also declared that the transfers of the institute’s assets, including its headquarters, seized in the administration’s takeover are null and void.
Trump’s move against USIP, Howell wrote, “represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better.”
Earlier this year, Trump fired the institute’s board members and president and ordered the institute’s operations be gutted, saying it fell under executive branch purview. A team from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency then forcefully seized the institute’s headquarters and moved to dismantle operations.
Five members of the board sued to try to block the takeover. Their lawsuit alleges that they were unlawfully removed from their positions and should be reinstated.
After Howell’s ruling was announced, more than 20 former USIP employees gathered outside the institute’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C. to celebrate.
“Incredulous, so excited, just crying for joy,” said Tonis Montes, who was a senior program officer for the nonviolent action team.
The staff were fired in March and lost access to their email and all of their work. Several seemed hopeful that they could eventually get back into the building, which remains shuttered.
“If Americans believe in peace and security, they should believe in the United States Institute of Peace,” said Nicoletta Barbera, an expert on Africa. “We support American values abroad, which are a belief that peace is cheaper than wars and more effective than fighting.”
Another of her colleagues, Mary Holmcrams, said that this was a case about government overreach, as the Trump administration tried to take over a nonprofit and fire the board. She hopes this will be a precedent for other targets of DOGE.
The Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the ruling.
Status of USIP
The case before Howell revolved in large part around the question of whether USIP is part of the federal government, and if so, whether it’s part of the executive branch.
In their filings and in court, the fired board members have argued that USIP is not part of the federal government. The Trump administration, in contrast, has argued that the institute is part of government and falls under the executive branch, giving Trump the authority to remove the board.
In her ruling, Howell said USIP “is unique in its structure and function — neither a traditional executive branch agency nor an entirely private nonprofit corporation.”
Ultimately, Howell concluded that USIP must be considered part of the federal government but that it is not part of the executive branch.
“Instead, USIP 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,” she wrote.
Because of that, Trump’s firing of the USIP board members was unlawful, and the actions that have occurred since then to gut USIP to its “statutory minimums,” remove its president, terminate the staff and transfer the institute’s property to the General Services Administration are unlawful as well.
The acting president of USIP, former diplomat George Moose, said “we are delighted” with the ruling.
“We feel that it affirms what we have been saying all along, that Congress was very intentional about the way it went about setting up USIP, about it being an entity that is independent of the executive branch of government, and that its ability to do its work successfully depends on that independence,” Moose said.
The government can appeal Howell’s ruling, which would affect what happens next.
Moose acknowledged that it will take time to get USIP back up and running even if the government doesn’t appeal.
NPR’s Michele Kelemen contributed to this report.
