Employees from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gained entry to the U.S. Institute of Peace despite objections from the nonprofit, which insists it operates independently and is not part of the executive branch.
The CEO of the organization, George Moose, remarked, “DOGE has infiltrated our building.”
Employees at USIP alerted the Metropolitan Police Department, reporting the incident as a break-in. Police vehicles were seen outside the USIP headquarters in Northwest D.C. on Monday evening.
Moose stated that discussions with D.C. police have been ongoing since Trump issued the executive order on February 19, indicating that the headquarters is a private establishment with the same rights as any other private property owner.
“The personnel in our building are not federal or executive branch employees,” Moose emphasized. “They are employees of the institute. We have our own independent board; we possess our own authority to directly approach Congress for funding. Yet, somehow, none of these arguments have been successful.”
The DOGE staff managed to access the building following multiple failed attempts on Monday, after having been denied entry on Friday, according to a senior official from the U.S. Institute of Peace, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation.
It remains unclear what the DOGE representatives were seeking or doing within the nonprofit’s premises, situated across from the State Department in the Foggy Bottom area.
Moose expressed that while he considers the incursion into the headquarters to be unlawful and inappropriate, he also views it as an unavoidable situation.
President Donald Trump aimed at the organization and several others within a February 19 executive order that seeks to reduce the size of the federal government. The administration has subsequently moved to dismiss personnel and eliminate programs from some of these entities.
DOGE has shown interest in the U.S. Institute of Peace for several weeks but faced rejection from legal advisors who contended that the institute’s independent status shields it from the kind of restructuring affecting other federal agencies.
On Friday, DOGE personnel showed up accompanied by two FBI agents, who departed after the institute’s lawyer clarified USIP’s “private and independent status,” as stated by the organization.
According to its website, the U.S. Institute of Peace is a nonpartisan, independent organization “dedicated to safeguarding U.S. interests by aiding in the prevention of violent conflicts and negotiating peace agreements worldwide.”
The nonprofit claims it was established by Congress in 1984 as an “independent nonprofit corporation” and does not fit the U.S. Code definitions of “government corporation,” “government-controlled corporation,” or “independent establishment.”
Also mentioned in Trump’s executive order were the U.S. African Development Foundation, a federal agency that invests in small businesses in Africa; the Inter-American Foundation, a federal agency focused on investments in Latin America and the Caribbean; and the Presidio Trust, which manages a national park site adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The African Development Foundation, which also attempted unsuccessfully to prevent DOGE representatives from entering its Washington offices, pursued legal action, but a federal judge ruled last week that terminating most grants and staff would be permissible. The president of the Inter-American Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to contest her dismissal by the Trump administration in February.
Later on Monday evening, DOGE issued a statement on X claiming that Mr. Moose denied lawful entry to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting USIP President (as sanctioned by the USIP Board). The @DCPoliceDept arrived at the scene and escorted Mr. Jackson into the building. The only person acting unlawfully was Mr. Moose, who refused to comply and even attempted to dismiss USIP’s private security team when they intervened to grant access to Mr. Jackson.
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