A leftist federal judge has slammed the brakes on the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) audacious takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), calling it a brazen overreach.
The Hill reported that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell’s 102-page ruling didn’t just nudge DOGE back—it sent them packing. The decision restores USIP’s independence, leaving Trump administration officials red-faced.
In a single stroke, Judge Howell voided DOGE’s entire operation, from ousting USIP’s board to seizing its headquarters.
The ruling, delivered Monday, declared the takeover “null and void,” reinstating the institute’s leadership and assets. It’s a stark reminder that even the boldest moves need legal legs to stand on.
The saga began in March when DOGE, backed by President Trump, targeted USIP with what institute lawyer Andrew Goldfarb called “lightning speed.” Their goal? Dismantle an independent body tasked by Congress to promote peace and curb conflict.
DOGE’s first attempt to storm USIP’s headquarters flopped when two FBI agents were turned away at the door. Undeterred, they sent agents to the private home of USIP’s chief of security, pressing for access. It’s the kind of strong-arm tactic that raises eyebrows and questions about overstepping bounds.
Days later, DOGE upped the ante, enlisting D.C. Metropolitan Police, Department of State police, and the FBI to breach the building.
A private security firm, once contracted by USIP but now cozy with DOGE, handed over a key despite a revoked contract. Loyalty, it seems, bends under pressure.
USIP’s outside counsel faced threats of criminal investigation for resisting DOGE’s demands. Such heavy-handed moves suggest a playbook more about intimidation than governance. Turns out, actions have consequences.
In March, the Trump administration fired most of USIP’s board and installed Kenneth Jackson, a State Department official, as president. DOGE’s replacements, Judge Howell later ruled, were “illegitimately-installed leaders” lacking any legal authority. The court’s gavel has now swept them aside.
USIP and its ousted board members didn’t sit idly by—they sued DOGE and Trump officials, alleging an unlawful plot to gut the institute.
The lawsuit claimed DOGE aimed to “essentially to rubble” USIP’s mission, in Goldfarb’s words. It’s a charge that stings, especially for an agency meant to foster peace.
Judge Howell’s ruling affirmed that Congress’s limits on the president’s power to remove USIP board members are “squarely constitutional.” USIP, while part of the federal government, doesn’t wield executive power, placing it beyond DOGE’s grasp. This legal clarity cuts through the chaos like a knife.
The court nullified DOGE’s transfer of USIP’s headquarters and financial assets to the General Services Administration. Control now reverts to USIP, undoing months of disruption. It’s a victory for process over political muscle.
Judge Howell went further, barring DOGE and named Trump officials from “trespass” on USIP’s property or systems. “The President’s efforts here… represented a gross usurpation of power,” she wrote. Her words land like a polite but pointed rebuke.
She called the takeover a “way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized USIP’s staff. It’s a rare judicial nod to the human toll of bureaucratic battles. Empathy, even from the bench, carries weight.
USIP wasn’t alone in DOGE’s crosshairs—small agencies like the Inter-American Foundation and U.S. African Development Foundation also faced scrutiny.
A Feb. 19 executive order aimed to trim bureaucracy, but USIP’s fightback shows not every target rolls over. Resistance, when rooted in law, can prevail.