POLITICS NEWS – DOGE tries to gift itself a $500 million Institute of Peace building, fires agency staffers

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

On April 1st, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell effectively allowed the transfer of the U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters building to the DOGE-controlled General Services Administration. The president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded, independent think tank has moved to the $500 million headquarters building under the General Services Administration free of charge.

Tensions at the USIP have escalated over the past weeks, which began as the Trump administration fired 10 of the agency’s voting board members on March 14.  An USIP staffer ultimately denied DOGE representatives access to the building. 

Just three days later, DOGE employees entered the building and initiated a full takeover with former State Department Official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of Friday, most USIP staffers had received termination notices.