US think tank takes DOGE to court after its offices ransacked

THE United States Institute of Peace (USIP) — an independent non-profit established by Congress 40 years ago — has asked a US judge to immediately block the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) attempt to forcibly shut the organisation’s offices.

According to CNN, a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in the DC district court seeks “the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs’ ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress”.

The suit was filed after DOGE personnel, accompanied by DC police officers, gained access to the USIP on Monday after being turned away last week. That dramatic escalation followed the Trump administration’s gutting of the organisation’s board last week.

A declaration filed as part of the lawsuit from the institute’s chief security officer alleges that the one USIP employee who “possesses the technological capability to access the Infrastructure and to grant others access” was traveling to Washington, DC, “at the behest of DOGE … in order to access the Infrastructure and grant access to DOGE as soon as the evening of March 18, 2025”.

Another memorandum of support stated that “USIP also has reason to believe that Defendants or those working in concert with them are currently in the USIP building, causing physical damage to the premises and physically accessing and disposing of USIP financial records”.

The complaint argues the administration’s actions, including alleged destruction and modification of files, are causing “irreparable harm” against USIP. It asks the court to block the “trespass by Defendants against real and personal property belonging to the Institute”.

Photos posted to social media platforms showed that the organisation’s name and emblem had been removed from its Washington headquarters.

The complaint specifically calls on the court to declare the Trump administration’s efforts to oust the USIP board of directors and its acting president “null and void”. It asks for an injunction saying that those individuals may not be removed unless the court finds that it complies with the law and gives its “express permission”.

However, NBC News quoted White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly as saying that President Trump “signed an executive order to reduce USIP to its statutory minimum” and that “11 board members were lawfully removed” before three board members appointed Jackson acting president of the organisation.

Under the USIP Act, most of the bipartisan board of directors is appointed by the president “with the advice and consent of the Senate”. Last week, the White House said they were terminating most of those members, who include President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to Russia. According to the lawsuit, the termination emails from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel “did not state any justification for the purported terminations”.

The three remaining members of the board — Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Defense University President Peter Garvin — said they were removing the acting president, Amb. George Moose and installing Trump appointee Kenneth Jackson.

USIP, which was established under President Ronald Reagan, employs 414 employees and personal services contractors, is present in 26 countries, and has seven field offices. Its main building is owned by an independent nonprofit corporation and was constructed from “private gifts and contributions,” according to the suit.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025