The Trump administration has renamed the US Institute of Peace after Donald Trump and has planted the president’s name on the organization’s headquarters despite an ongoing fight over the institute’s control.
It is the latest twist in a seesaw court battle over who controls the US Institute of Peace, a non-profit thinktank that focuses on peace initiatives. It was an early target of the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge) job-cutting scheme this year, drawing swift legal challenge.
On Wednesday, the state department said it renamed the organization to become the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history”. The new name could be seen on its building, which is near the state department.
The president has spent months openly lobbying for a Nobel peace prize, arguing he had a hand in easing a series of conflicts around the world, despite conflicts that he said he would fix continuing to rage. Lately, Trump has also ordered strikes on suspected drug vessels off the coast of Venezuela and repeatedly threatened that attacks on land could be coming, which would be an act of war against that country.
The takeover of the Peace Institute was also anything but peaceful, with his administration seizing the independent entity and ousting its board before actually affixing his name to the building.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said: “The United States Institute of Peace was once a bloated, useless entity that blew $50m per year while delivering no peace. Now, the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a president who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability.”
She added: “Congratulations, world!”
George Foote, a lawyer for the former institute’s leadership and staff, said the renaming “adds insult to injury”.
“A federal judge has already ruled that the government’s armed takeover was illegal. That judgment is stayed while the government appeals, which is the only reason the government continues to control the building,” Foote said.
Since March, the headquarters has switched hands multiple times in court actions related to the Doge takeover. A final decision on its fate is pending in federal appeals court.
The USIP has maintained the organization is an independent creation of the US Congress and outside the president’s executive authority. The administration argues it is an executive branch organization.
After Trump fired the institute’s board in the the spring, the staff was fired as well and the building was turned over to the General Services Administration.
A federal district court overturned the action in May, putting the headquarters back into the hands of USIP leadership. But that action was reversed weeks later by a federal appeals court.
Employees at this juncture have been fired twice and the building is in GSA’s possession.
The building is expected to be the backdrop for the signing of a peace agreement Thursday between Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. High-ranking officials from the African Union, Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Togo, Qatar, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates are also expected to attend the signing, according to Yolande Makolo, a senior adviser to Kagame.
The USIP website remained unchanged on Wednesday night, but its lead item was headlined: “President Donald J. Trump to Sign Historic Peace Agreement at USIP Headquarters,” followed by a write-up of the deal between Congo and Rwanda that Trump was overseeing at the institute on Thursday.
The Institute of Peace was created by Congress in the 1980s.