What Is a Far-Right Ideologue Going to Do With the US Institute of Peace? 

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In February, President Trump included the US Institute of Peace in an executive order targeting federal entities he deemed “unnecessary” and which he planned to cut as much as he legally could. In March, the USIP’s Washington, DC, offices were invaded by armed private security as part of a brute force takeover by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Amid the subsequent running court battle, the USIP, which once employed over 200 people, has been reduced to a ghost organization, with around four total workers. In court, DOGE and the Trump administration continue to insist they can seize both USIP’s famous headquarters, situated near the National Mall, as well as its finances. 

“How can this person be one to lead any peace-building? It just seems absurd.” 

In late July, the State Department also announced a new, eyebrow-raising acting president for what’s left of USIP: former academic Darren Beattie, who was fired from the first Trump administration for speaking at a conference heavily attended by white nationalists.