Last year, the The administration of Trump and members of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be forced SUCCEEDS the US Institute of Peace (USIP), an independent nonprofit. Since then, the removed board and employees of the organization fight to regain control of USIP building in Washington, DC and for getting their jobs back in a bitter court battle.

Now, in a letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), representatives for the removed board and employees of USIP argued that the administration violated a stay issued by the court by making physical changes to the building and, in their understanding, continued the new agreements. Specifically, the letter asked for information on whether the State Department had signed an agreement to use the building for the “Peace Board,” a new international organization under the personal lifetime control of President Donald Trump who intends to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

“They operate under the occupancy as if they have a license to use the building, to use the money, to treat the building any way they want,” said George Foote, adviser to former USIP leadership and staff. “A stay is not permission for the loser in a case to hijack the property of the winning party.”

On March 17, 2025 DOGE members reached USIP and forced their way into the $500 million building; shortly after, the Trump administration fired most of the organization’s board. USIP, although created and funded by Congress, is an independent entity, not a federal agency. This did not stop Trump from issuing a executive order which purported to close USIP.

In May, a court CONDUCTED that the administration’s takeover of the USIP building and the dismissal of its staff are against the law; next month, an appeals court issued a stay in that judgment. It returned the building to administration control while a federal appeals case continues.

In December, the Trump administration the name has been changed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace building, which still has the president’s name on its building. But this, apparently, is only the beginning.

According to the letter, “The current acting president of USIP recently signed a ten-year

memorandum of understanding (‘MOU’) with the State Department, whereby hundreds of State Department employees will move into the USIP building. The letter states that under the terms of this agreement, USIP is responsible for the building’s maintenance and security costs, and the State Department has liability for damage to USIP’s property. To accommodate the influx of new people, the letter said, “construction has begun to modify the workplaces of the USIP building.” These changes, the letter argued, could “impose substantial, costly, and unreasonable obstacles” if USIP ultimately wins back control of the building in the final court case.

Which State Department staff will be housed in the USIP building is unclear, but a presentation given at the World Economic Forum by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner raised alarms on the part of USIP’s former staff and board. Kushner used a slide deck to outline plans for a new “Board of Peace” and the development of Gaza; an image of the USIP building is last slide. The letter asks the government to “confirm whether the Administration has plans to house the ‘Board of Peace’ in the USIP headquarters building.”

“The government does not have a license to change the name of the USIP headquarters building or lease it for 10 years. It certainly does not have the right to open the building to a new international organization like the proposed Board of Peace,” said Foote.

The letter also asked for confirmation of funds in the USIP endowment, which Foote said he was concerned could be used “to convert the building for State Department rental purposes, thus using our donor money for the benefit of the State Department.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.