The Trump administration’s plans to build a $500 million USIP building may violate a court order, former workers say

last year, The Trump administration and members of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are in force He took over The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), an independent non-profit organization. The organization’s board and staff have since been dismissed Fighting To regain control USIP building In Washington, D.C., to get their jobs back in a long-running legal battle.

Now, in a letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), representatives of USIP’s board and fired employees argue that management is violating the court’s moratorium by making physical changes to the building and, in their understanding, moving forward with new agreements. Specifically, the letter requests information about whether the State Department has signed an agreement to use the building for a “peace council,” a peace council. A new international organization Under the personal, lifelong control of President Donald Trump who seeks to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

“They act under the moratorium as if they have a license to use the building, to use the funds, to deal with the building in any way they want,” says George Foote, a leadership adviser and former staff member of the US Institute of Peace. “A stay does not mean allowing the loser in the case to seize the property of the winning party.”

On March 17, 2025, DOGE members arrived at USIP and They made their way into the $500 million building; Shortly after, the Trump administration fired most of the organization’s board members. USIP, although created and funded by Congress, is an independent entity, not a federal agency. This did not prevent Trump from issuing a decision Executive order It claims to essentially shut down USIP.

In May, the court detained that the administration’s seizure of the USIP building and expulsion of its employees was illegal; The following month, the Court of Appeal He issued a residence permit On that ruling. This returned the building to management control while the federal appeals case was pending.

In December, the Trump administration Rename it Building the Donald J. Trump Peace Institute, even having the president’s name emblazoned on its edifice. But it seems that this was only the beginning.

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

A Memorandum of Understanding (‘MOU’) with the State Department, under which hundreds of State Department employees will move to the United States Institute of Peace building. The letter claims that under the terms of this agreement, USIP will be responsible for the costs of building maintenance and security, and the State Department will be indemnified for liability for damage to USIP’s property. To accommodate the influx of new people, the letter claims that “construction work is already underway to modify the workplaces of the United States Institute of Peace building.” The letter says these renovations could “impose significant, costly, and unwarranted hurdles” should USIP ultimately regain control of the building in the final case before the court.

It is unclear which State Department employees will be housed in the USIP building, but a presentation by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the World Economic Forum has raised concerns among former USIP staff and its board. Kushner used a slide deck to outline plans for a new “peace council” and Gaza redevelopment; The picture of the USIP building was Final slide. The letter asks the government to “confirm whether the administration has plans to house the ‘Peace Council’ in the USIP headquarters building.”

“The government does not have a license to rename the USIP headquarters building or lease it for 10 years,” says Foote. “It certainly has no right to open the building to a new international organization like the proposed peace council.”

The letter also asks for confirmation of funds in the USIP endowment, which Foote says he is concerned could be used to “repurpose the building for purposes of the State Department lease, thereby using donor funds to benefit the State Department.”

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