Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE unit has occupied the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent research institute established by the United States Congress.

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is one of the leading non-profit research institutes for peace studies in the world.

When USIP leaders and staff denied DOGE entry to their building, DOGE called in Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police to force their way into the institute’s building.

“For nearly five hours last Monday, Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting team joined with private security and with law enforcement authorities for an extraordinary showdown at an iconic building alongside the National Mall,” according to The New York Times.

“They were demanding access to the U.S. Institute of Peace. The group, a nonprofit created by Congress 41 years ago, supports diplomatic solutions to global conflicts, but on this day it became the hub of a bitter dispute with implications for U.S. constitutional law.”

The New York Times reports that “the confrontation stemmed from the White House’s decision this month to orchestrate the ouster of the institute’s president and top staff. When they refused to leave, a State Department official, alongside Mr. Musk’s team, the Department of Government Efficiency, moved to take control. By the end of the night, the office was occupied by new staff and a president backed by the Trump administration.”

NPR reports that a judge failed to reverse DOGE’s occupation of the U.S. Institute of Peace. Meanwhile, the United States Institute of Peace website has been taken down, presumably by DOGE.

As a historian of peace and conflict studies, I deplore the illegal and anti-constitutional occupation of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Kavi, Aishvarya. “Showdown at the Institute of Peace.” The New York Times (24 March 2025).

Feng, Emily and Ryan Lucas. “Judge Declines to Immediately Reverse Trump moves at U.S. Institute of Peace.” NPR (19 March 2025).

“Doge Occupies US Institute of Peace Headquarters after White House Guts its Board.” The Guardian (17 March 2025).