Staff members with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) entered the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on Monday evening after a standoff.
The staffers were accompanied by armed Metropolitan police officers and Kenneth Jackson, the organization’s newly-appointed president. This came after DOGE made several unsuccessful attempts to access the building.
In one instance, they went to the building with FBI agents and were still rebuffed. DOGE’s interest in entering USIP’s building came as part of a broader mandate from President Donald Trump to significantly downsize federal agencies while doing away with government bureaucracy as much as possible.
USIP is technically a private entity, but it is funded and controlled by the federal government. The president decides who leads the group. Earlier this month, Trump fired most of the organization’s board members and replaced them with his own officials.
DOGE appears intent on installing Jackson in his new position while it begins work on auditing the organization. The agency in a post on X, claimed the previous president, George Moose, “denied lawful access” to the acting president, which necessitated the use of police officers.
Mr. Moose denied lawful access to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting USIP President (as approved by the USIP Board). @DCPoliceDept arrived onsite and escorted Mr. Jackson into the building. The only unlawful individual was Mr. Moose, who refused to comply, and even tried to fire USIP’s… https://t.co/Fy8hJClx9E pic.twitter.com/yqq81qNKXM
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 18, 2025
From Axios:
DOGE said on X Monday evening Moose had "denied lawful access to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting USIP President (as approved by the USIP Board)."
- Metropolitan Police Department officers "arrived onsite and escorted Jackson into the building," per the post.
- "The only unlawful individual was Mr. Moose, who refused to comply, and even tried to fire USIP's private security team when said security team went to give access to Mr. Jackson."
- Police officers "responded to a call for service for Unlawful Entry" and "individuals left the premise without incident and no arrests were made" following their arrival, the MPD said in an emailed statement on Monday night.
This episode has garnered criticism from folks on the left, who argue that DOGE was going overboard. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), in a post on Bluesky, said he went to the building to “conduct congressional oversight” over “DOGE’s break in.”
He added: “USIP is an independent, non-profit entity and I will work to stop DOGE’s illegal power grab.”
I was at USIP tonight to conduct congressional oversight over DOGE’s break in. I spoke with Acting President & CEO Moose. USIP is an independent, non-profit entity and I will work to stop DOGE’s illegal power grab.
— Congressman Don Beyer (@beyer.house.gov) March 17, 2025 at 8:54 PM
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Others also slammed DOGE for using the police to enter the building.
US Institute of Peace had their PRIVATE building broken into by DOGE with the ARMED assistance from the DC Police and the including the Republican head of the institute.
— Erika Ferrari (@ErikaFe42180772) March 18, 2025
DOGE/Musk is retaining the armed DC police, some FBI agents to kick employees, even of PRIVATE bldgs.
However others pointed out that USIP is not a traditional nonprofit organization. It essentially functions as a government entity despite not being a part of the executive branch.
Your story and headlines are misleading @devex. The US Institute for Peace (USIP) isn’t just an “independent nonprofit.” It was created by law and operates under a federal statute—read it.
— Jason Ian Poblete (@JasonPoblete) March 18, 2025
1. Funded primarily by Congress (not private donors).
2. The president appoints most of… https://t.co/ZVJsephHxJ pic.twitter.com/IorLYiCyr3
This incident is part of the overall controversy surrounding DOGE as it seeks to cut down on wasteful spending while streamlining government operations.
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