The United States Institute of Peace Headquarters – CC BY-SA 3.0

Just when you think you’ve won against Donald Trump, just when you think the courts are on your side, he finds ways to place incompetent cronies in important positions. The battle surrounding the congressionally mandated U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) has been going on since mid-March. We thought justice won when a court ruled in May that the DOGE firings and executive takeover were illegal. But last week the State Department announced that DJT has been able to place one of his most suspect followers in a position to oversee the prestigious institution. While I was shocked when George Moose, the eminent former president of USIP and former assistant secretary of state, had been physically escorted out of the USIP headquarters by the Metropolitan police, I am more than shocked (if that’s still possible with Trump) to read about the ways the new person was chosen to replace Moose as well as the new acting director’s background. And the implications of the latest ruling go well beyond USIP.

USIP is a historically bipartisan Washington institution. It was founded in 1984 by Republican President Ronald Reagan. On March 14, DOGE fired Ambassador Moose as USIP’s president as well as many of the staff. The move was made to gut the Institute and eventually close it down in a way similar to what had happened to USAID and other government organizations providing foreign aid.

There have been several court cases and appeals following the March incident. DOGE tried to transfer ownership of USIP and its other assets to the executive branch. USIP countered that it is an “independent nonprofit corporation,” that does not meet U.S. Code definitions of “government corporation,” “government-controlled corporation” or “independent establishment.”

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