Judge bars Trump administration from shutting peace institute that sought to end violent conflicts
May 19, 2025, 10:04 AM | Updated: 3:02 pm
FILE - The headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace is seen, March 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with its dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an organization taken over in March by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the think tank, which was created and funded by Congress to focus on resolving violent conflicts around the globe, was taken over illegally by DOGE through “blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by the organization’s former board members and president, had maintained that the Institute of Peace was established by law as an independent, nonprofit organization. The plaintiffs also argue that the firing of the board members did not meet any of the steps required by the law that created the organization.
The moves also did not go before any of the four congressional committees that have oversight of the institute.
