Judge declines to block DOGE takeover of US Institute of Peace while legal challenge plays out

(CNN) — A federal judge on Wednesday declined to remove the Department of Government Efficiency from the US Institute of Peace building or reinstate fired board members while a legal challenge to DOGE’s takeover of the independent organization plays out.

While District Judge Beryl Howell declined to grant USIP’s request for a temporary restraining order, the Obama-appointed judge expressed disappointment in DOGE’s use of armed law enforcement to enter the non profit’s building earlier this week.

The suit was filed in DC District Court after DOGE personnel, accompanied by DC police officers, gained access to USIP’s building Monday after being turned away last week. That dramatic escalation followed the Trump administration’s Friday gutting of the organization’s board.

“Are you the least bit offended by how this was executed?” Howell asked Department of Justice attorney Brian Hudak on Wednesday. “I’ll answer the question this way…” Hudak began before she cut him off.

“Because I have to say I’m offended on behalf of the Americans that did so much service for the country to be treated so abominably, not to say the directors on the board,” Howell said.

The judge, however, said she needs further briefing on whether the non-profit is functioning under the executive branch and whether the violated statute outlining how board members are removed is actually lawful on its own.

“But that concern about how this has gone down is not one that can sway me and my consideration of factors for” a temporary restraining order, Howell said.

In its lawsuit, USIP is seeking “the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs’ ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress.”

USIP, which works to resolve conflict, is not a federal agency. It was created by Congress as a nonpartisan, independent body in 1984, and USIP owns and manages its headquarters.

A declaration filed as part of the lawsuit from the institute’s chief security officer alleges that the one USIP employee who “possesses the technological capability to access the Infrastructure and to grant others access” was traveling to Washington, DC, “at the behest of DOGE … in order to access the Infrastructure and grant access to DOGE as soon as the evening of March 18, 2025.”

Another memorandum of support states that “USIP also has reason to believe that Defendants or those working in concert with them are currently in the USIP building, causing physical damage to the premises and physically accessing and disposing of USIP financial records.”

It included a photo taken Tuesday of a trash can full of files, some of which appear financial, marked “SHRED.”

The complaint argues the administration’s actions, including alleged destruction and modification of files, are causing “irreparable harm” against USIP. It asks the court to block the “trespass by Defendants against real and personal property belonging to the Institute” and prohibit them from “maintaining, retaining, gaining, or exercising any access or control over Plaintiffs’ offices, facilities, computer systems, accounts, or any other records, files, or resources, and from acting or purporting to act in the name of Institute, and from using the Institute’s name, emblem, badge, seal, and any other mark of recognition of the Institute.”

The complaint specifically calls on the court to declare the Trump administration’s efforts to oust the USIP board of directors and its acting president “null and void.” It asks for an injunction saying that those individuals may not be removed unless the court finds that it complies with the law and gives its “express permission.”

Under the USIP Act, most of the bipartisan board of directors is appointed by the president “with the advice and consent of the Senate.” Last week, the White House said they were terminating most of those members, who include President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to Russia. According to the lawsuit, the termination emails from the White House Office of Presidential Personnel “did not state any justification for the purported terminations.”

The three remaining members of the board – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Defense University President Peter Garvin – said they were removing the acting president, Amb. George Moose and installing Trump appointee Kenneth Jackson. The suit alleges that appointment is not valid and asks the court to declare that Moose “lawfully remains the president of the Institute.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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