Musk's DOGE takeover of Institute of Peace brought roaches and rats to D.C. headquarters, court docs say

Independent

4 days ago

The head of the United States Institute of Peace says its Washington, D.C. headquarters near the Lincoln Memorial was left to rot after billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency took it over in March, leaving water damage, graffiti — and worst of all, an infestation of roaches and rats.
After DOGE replaced the independent, fully government-funded nonprofit's board with MAGA loyalists and fired the entire staff, Musk's crew left it with a 'level of staffing… woefully insufficient to properly protect and maintain' the $500 million Moshe Safdie-designed concrete-and-glass structure, according to a May 23 affidavit filed in D.C. federal court by USIP President and CEO George Moose.
'Vermin were not a problem prior to March 17, 2025, when USIP was actively using and maintaining the building,' Moose's affidavit states.
Moose's affidavit, which is part of a broader legal action by USIP in an attempt to regain full control of the organization, was first reported on Friday in the weekly Court Watch newsletter.
The office, which is congressionally funded but is not part of the U.S. government, was established in 1984 by Ronald Reagan with a stated mission to advance international stability and conflict resolution. Still, shortly after he was sworn in for his second term as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order taking aim at USIP as 'unnecessary.'
On Friday, March 14, Moose, a career diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Benin and Senegal in West Africa, was abruptly terminated by the White House. He went back to the office on Monday and was removed from the USIP offices by police and replaced by Kenneth Jackson, a DOGE administrator, a move Moose immediately vowed to fight.
Speaking to reporters outside after he was shown the door, Moose dubbed USIP's unilateral annexation 'an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch of a private nonprofit corporation,' saying it had been 'very clear that there was a desire on the part of the administration to dismantle a lot of what we call foreign assistance.'
On May 19, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the DOGE seizure of USIP was unlawful, and ordered Moose and his staff reinstated.
In handing down her opinion, Howell said Trump's 'efforts here to take over an organization… represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better.'
The following day, Moose became concerned after hearing from USIP employees that the building's condition had been allowed to deteriorate, his affidavit states. With the help of his attorneys, and following Judge Howell's order, Moose arranged to get back into USIP headquarters on May 21.
'When my team and I arrived, the only persons in the building were two security guards and a small cleaning crew,' he says in the affidavit. 'In my experience, that level of staffing is woefully insufficient to properly protect and maintain the building.'
However, Moose told reporters that, at first glance, nothing immediately seemed amiss.
'We just did a quick walk-through – externally, visibly, things look to be in pretty good shape,' he said. 'I didn't see anything, any destruction, if you will, no damage that I can see that is visible.'
Yet, the following day, a more thorough inspection turned up myriad problems, according to Moose's affidavit.
'On May 22, members of my staff, including our chief of security and our contract building engineer, spent the day surveying and documenting the condition of the building, to include photographs,' he stated.
'They reported evidence of rats and roaches in the building,' which he said was a first.
Moose says in his affidavit that staff reported 'other deficiencies in the maintenance of the building, including the failure to maintain vehicle barriers and the cooling tower, water leaks, damage to the garage door, and missing ceiling tiles in multiple places in the building (which I have been told suggest likely water damage).'
'In addition,' the affidavit contends, 'I learned from my team that sometime in the past several days, before we regained control of the property and assumed control for security, someone had scrawled graffiti on one of the outside spaces.'
This occurred, according to the affidavit, because 'the building ha[d] been essentially abandoned for many weeks,' during which time DOGE left USIP HQ with 'only a few security guards on site, with no perimeter patrols.'
According to Moose's affidavit, he 'immediately resumed' his duties at USIP, and reached out to staff and board members to begin working there again.
It says USIP has once again assumed control of their building, has engaged a private security firm to guard the premises, and has taken over responsibility for the building's maintenance. At the same time, Musk is leaving DOGE as his 130-day tenure as a 'special government employee' comes to an end.
Trump and DOGE have appealed Howell's ruling.
Moose did not respond on Friday to The Independent 's requests for comment, nor did the attorneys representing him and USIP in court.
Messages seeking comment from Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Carilli, DOGE's lawyer in the case, and the White House, also went unanswered.