The acting president of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), affiliated with DOGE, has initiated the process of transferring the agency’s $500 million headquarters to the General Services Administration (GSA) at no cost, as revealed by court documents in a recent lawsuit. This development follows escalating tensions at USIP, which began when the Trump administration dismissed the agency’s ten voting board members on March 14. In response, USIP staff denied entry to DOGE representatives; however, three days later, DOGE employees gained access to the building using a key from a former security contractor, leading to a full takeover with Kenneth Jackson, a former State Department official, assuming the role of president. As of last Friday, most USIP staff members have been issued termination notices.
In the aftermath, former USIP officials have filed a lawsuit against Jackson, DOGE, Donald Trump, and other Trump administration members, seeking immediate court intervention to prevent what they claim is the unlawful dismantling of the Institute. Although US district judge Beryl Howell declined USIP’s request for a temporary restraining order to reinstate its board, she voiced strong criticism of DOGE’s actions in court.
According to court documents filed by the defendants, DOGE has further plans for USIP. As of March 25, Nate Cavanaugh, a DOGE staffer previously aligned with the GSA, has taken over as the institute’s acting president, replacing Jackson. Cavanaugh has received instructions to transfer USIP’s assets, including its real estate, to the GSA, with the changes and instructions endorsed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Cavanaugh has yet to respond to requests for comments from WIRED, nor has the lead attorney for the Department of Justice in this case. In correspondence with GSA acting administrator Stephen Ehikian, Cavanaugh wrote that transferring USIP’s property to GSA serves the best interests of USIP, the federal government, and the United States, proposing an exception to the full reimbursement requirement due to the building’s estimated fair market value of $500 million.
In another letter dated March 29, Russell Vought, Project 2025 architect and Office of Management and Budget director, approved the request to set the reimbursement for USIP’s headquarters building transfer at no cost. This move aligns with DOGE’s strategies to dissolve agencies, a claim made by George Foote, a long-standing outside general counsel to USIP, who asserts that the actions aim to dismantle the agency unlawfully.
On Monday, former USIP staff lawyers filed a motion to prevent the asset transfer. In contrast, government lawyers in a subsequent court filing argued that USIP is an executive agency acting consistently with Executive Order authority to transfer excess property to GSA, citing President Trump’s February executive order aimed at curtailing independent agencies.
Judge Howell’s decision on the asset transfer is expected on Tuesday, with a broader ruling on the USIP case anticipated by the month’s end. Additional reporting was provided by Matt Giles.
