Latest news with #USInstituteofPeace
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doge staff ‘left Washington office littered with marijuana and cockroaches'
Elon Musk's Doge team reportedly left a government-funded institution littered with beer bottles, drugs and cockroaches. Mr Musk, who left his job in Donald Trump's administration last week, attempted to dismantle the US Institute of Peace (Usip) and lay off most of its workers earlier this year, but was blocked by a court order. Although it was established by and receives the bulk of its endowment from Congress, it is technically an independent organisation which its leadership says keeps it beyond the control of Mr Trump and his allies. When employees returned last month to the interview, which is tasked with preventing conflict around the world, they reportedly found it full of cockroaches and rodents, with leftover marijuana and empty beer bottles strewn about. Colin O'Brien, Usip's head of security, cited witnesses who said Doge workers were 'smoking weed in the building', according to Politico. The Economist reported earlier this month that cleaners at Usip's Washington headquarters had found marijuana that had seemingly been thrown out by Mr Musk's team. The Tesla boss reportedly embarked on an intense drug habit during his time on the campaign trail, to the point where he allegedly developed a bladder issue because of his ketamine consumption, The New York Times reported last week, citing people familiar with his activities with access to alleged evidence. Mr Musk denied the allegations and accused the newspaper of 'lying their a-- off'. Mr O'Brien said hundreds of laptops, which had previously been turned over to Doge staffers, were found stacked haphazardly on top of each other, while chargers were found in bins. Numerous flags bearing the name of the institution had been removed from the building, he added. 'It was neglect,' he said. 'These folks don't know how to run a large, multi-building commercial office complex.' Usip became a flashpoint in Mr Musk's push for government cuts this year when Doge staffers repeatedly tried to gain entrance to the building. In March, they finally managed to make their way in, prompting Usip's acting president George Moose to declare they had 'broken into our building ' and declared it 'an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch'. Some staff were forcibly removed from the building by police, and were sacked by the Trump administration two weeks later. However, Usip workers were reinstated and allowed back in the building in May when a court declared the takeover 'unlawful' and said it had been conducted by 'illegitimately-installed leaders'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Doge staff ‘left Washington office littered with marijuana and cockroaches'
Elon Musk's Doge team reportedly left a government-funded institution littered with beer bottles, drugs and cockroaches. Mr Musk, who left his job in Donald Trump's administration last week, attempted to dismantle the US Institute of Peace (Usip) and lay off most of its workers earlier this year, but was blocked by a court order. Although it was established by and receives the bulk of its endowment from Congress, it is technically an independent organisation which its leadership says keeps it beyond the control of Mr Trump and his allies. When employees returned last month to the interview, which is tasked with preventing conflict around the world, they reportedly found it full of cockroaches and rodents, with leftover marijuana and empty beer bottles strewn about. Colin O'Brien, Usip's head of security, cited witnesses who said Doge workers were 'smoking weed in the building', according to Politico. The Economist reported earlier this month that cleaners at Usip's Washington headquarters had found marijuana that had seemingly been thrown out by Mr Musk's team. The Tesla boss reportedly embarked on an intense drug habit during his time on the campaign trail, to the point where he allegedly developed a bladder issue because of his ketamine consumption, The New York Times reported last week, citing people familiar with his activities with access to alleged evidence. Mr Musk denied the allegations and accused the newspaper of 'lying their a-- off'. Mr O'Brien said hundreds of laptops, which had previously been turned over to Doge staffers, were found stacked haphazardly on top of each other, while chargers were found in bins. Numerous flags bearing the name of the institution had been removed from the building, he added. 'It was neglect,' he said. 'These folks don't know how to run a large, multi-building commercial office complex.' Staff carried out 'illegal takeover' Usip became a flashpoint in Mr Musk's push for government cuts this year when Doge staffers repeatedly tried to gain entrance to the building. In March, they finally managed to make their way in, prompting Usip's acting president George Moose to declare they had 'broken into our building ' and declared it 'an illegal takeover by elements of the executive branch'. Some staff were forcibly removed from the building by police, and were sacked by the Trump administration two weeks later. However, Usip workers were reinstated and allowed back in the building in May when a court declared the takeover 'unlawful' and said it had been conducted by 'illegitimately-installed leaders'.
Fox News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Federal judge blocks Trump dismantling of US Institute of Peace
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, writing in a ruling that the removal of its board members and the takeover of its headquarters by members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are actions that are "null and void." The response this week from U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell comes after the Institute filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in March calling for "the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs' ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress." "The Administration removed the Institute's leadership, including plaintiff Board members and its president in contravention of statutory limitations, and had personnel from a newly created federal office, called the Department of Government Efficiency, forcibly take over the Institute's headquarters on March 17," Howell wrote in her ruling. "With a newly installed USIP president, the Administration then handed off USIP's property for no consideration and abruptly terminated nearly all of its staff and activities around the world." "Congress's restrictions on the President's removal power of USIP Board members are squarely constitutional, and the President and his Administration's acts to the contrary are unlawful and ultra vires. The actions that have occurred since then – at the direction of the President to reduce USIP to its 'statutory minimums' – including the removal of USIP's president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP's staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration, were thus effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void," she added. The Institute of Peace is an independent, national institution funded by Congress that was established in 1984 under the Reagan administration to promote peace and diplomacy on the international stage. "Congress has endorsed USIP's important work by continuing to fund the Institute through appropriations bills signed by seven different Presidents from both major political parties, including the current President during his first term in office," Howell said in the ruling. "In a drastic and abrupt change of course, within the first month of his second term, President Trump unilaterally decided that USIP is 'unnecessary,' issuing Executive Order 14217 to this effect, and then his Administration rushed through actions, including removal of Board members, to reach the professed goal of reducing all of USIP's operations and personnel to the bare minimum to perform only mandated statutory tasks, while ignoring the broader statutory goals set out for this organization to fulfill," she also said. Ultimately, Howell concluded, the Trump administration's actions "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 White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. In March, it said the Trump administration gutted the Institute of Peace of "rogue bureaucrats" who held a tense standoff with a DOGE team that required police intervention. "Rogue bureaucrats will not be allowed to hold agencies hostage," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said at the time. "The Trump administration will enforce the president's executive authority and ensure his agencies remain accountable to the American people." The administration now has 30 days to file an appeal to the ruling. "The United States Institute of Peace has existed for 40 years on a $50 million annual budget, but failed to deliver peace," Kelly told the Associated Press. "President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and this rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter."
New Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Judge halts Trump's move to shut US peace institute working to end violent global conflicts
WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Monday blocked the Donald Trump administration from moving forward with its dismantling of the US Institute of Peace, an organization taken over in March by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. US District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the think tank, which was created and funded by Congress to focus on resolving violent conflicts around the globe, was taken over illegally by DOGE through 'blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.' The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by the organization's former board members and president, had maintained that the Institute of Peace was established by law as an independent, nonprofit organization. The plaintiffs also argue that the firing of the board members did not meet any of the steps required by the law that created the organization. The moves also did not go before any of the four congressional committees that have oversight of the institute. In her ruling, Howell cited the uniqueness of the organization, saying the president 'second-guessed' the judgment of Congress and President Ronald Reagan in creating the institute 40 years ago, and the judgment of every Congress since. In an email, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said 'the United States Institute of Peace has existed for 40 years on a $50 million annual budget, but failed to deliver peace. President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and this rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter.' The administration has 30 days to file a notice of appeal. Trump issued the executive order in February that targeted the institute and three other agencies for closure in an effort to deliver on campaign promises to shrink the size of the federal government. The first attempt by DOGE to take over the headquarters led to a standoff. Members of Musk's DOGE group returned days later with the FBI and District of Columbia Metropolitan Police to help them gain entry. The institute and many of its board members sued the Trump administration March 18, seeking to prevent their removal and to prevent DOGE from taking over its operations. The firing of the board was followed by a Friday night mass firing by email on March 28, which threw the workforce into turmoil. At the same time, DOGE transferred the administrative oversight of the organization's headquarters and assets to the General Services Administration that weekend. Since then, employees were allowed to retrieve personal items but computers, office tools and supplies and furniture were left behind. In reaching her opinion Howell concluded that the institute 'ultimately exercises no Executive branch power under the Constitution but operates, through research, educational teaching, and scholarship, in the sensitive area of global peace. In creating this organization, Congress struck a careful balance between political accountability, on the one hand, and partisan independence and stability, on the other.' As such, 'the Constitution makes clear that the President's constitutional authority only extends as far as Article II, but even Article II does not grant him absolute removal authority over his subordinates, under current binding caselaw precedent.' Howell said that because the removal of the board by the administration was illegal, all subsequent actions are null and void, including the firing of the staff and the transfer of the headquarters to the General Services Administration. The idea in creating the institute was for an organization that would operate outside normal channels to work to promote peace and prevent and end conflicts. At the time it was shuttered, the institute operated in more than two dozen conflict zones, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. Howell had denied two requests by the plaintiffs for restraining orders — one to halt the firing of the board and another to stop the administration from taking over the institute's headquarters. That ruling came after she held a status hearing and learned that DOGE-installed leadership had already initiated and completed the transfer of the headquarters before the plaintiffs could even get to court. Howell equated the quick action to a bull in a China shop. USIP's acting president and CEO, George Moose, said in a briefing that the actions against the institute have had a traumatic impact on the staff and people around the world who have worked with the institute. 'I don't think there's any question that this has caused harm and damage, some of which in fact will be irreparable,' the former US ambassador said. Moose said how quickly the staff can try to resume its work and repair the damage depends on how the administration responds. 'We have an understanding that we once we return to the building, the challenge of restarting and recovering and rebuilding is in fact, going to take time,' he said. 'We anticipate that we're going to have to do this in phases starting out modestly' with what resources are available. As word of the court action spread an impromptu group of about two dozens employees gathered in front of the headquarters and cheered as parts of Howell's ruling were read aloud. All understood it was only the first step in what they expect to be a longer court battle before they can return to work. Tonis Montes, 36, who worked in the institute's Gandhi-King Global Academy said she felt vindicated but 'there's a lot to interpret in the ruling. If it were up to us, we'd be in that building, getting to work.' Nicoletta Barbera, 36, and the acting director of the West Africa and Central Africa programs, said she was ecstatic 'but aware this is just step one, but happy that some justice prevailed today.'
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Rules That Trump Administration Takeover of Institute of Peace Is Illegal
A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration's takeover and gutting of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit created by Congress to seek diplomatic solutions to global conflicts, were unlawful and a 'gross usurpation of power' and ordered the reinstatement of officials ejected by the White House. The March takeover and the subsequent termination of most of the institute's work force followed an executive order from President Trump to cut its staffing to a bare minimum. The judge, Beryl Howell of U.S. District Court in Washington, wrote that such changes required the consent of Congress, but that the Trump administration had removed the institute's leadership and installed handpicked replacements 'through blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.' Judge Howell's ruling, in a suit brought by former institute officials, was the latest judicial order blocking the administration's aggressive efforts to assert power over Washington institutions. In a statement on Monday, Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, called the ruling a 'rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers' and suggested the administration would appeal. 'President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum,' Ms. Kelly added. The institute has an annual budget of $50 million, appropriated by Congress. The takeover unfolded over several dramatic days at the institute, which was established 41 years ago and whose headquarters sit on the National Mall. After the White House orchestrated the ouster of the institute's president and top staff members, they refused to leave. Then in a showdown on March 17, members of Elon Musk's cost-cutting team joined with private security and law enforcement authorities in a bid to take control of the building. After a confrontation lasting hours, the institute's top staff, including its acting president, were evicted by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department after the police determined that a State Department official had authority over the building. The White House also fired all 10 voting members of the organization's board. In the weeks that followed, all but four of the institute's hundreds of workers in the United States and abroad were terminated. The institute's work has since ground to a halt. Judge Howell rejected the Trump administration's argument that the institute was part of the executive branch. Instead, she wrote, 'USIP supports both the Executive and Legislative branches as an independent think tank that carries out its own international peace research, education and training, and information services.' Her order also prohibits the administration's 'further trespass' of the institute's headquarters. George Foote, a former lawyer for the institute who helped bring the lawsuit, lauded the judge's decision and said that the institute's former staff members had been working in anticipation of the institute being restored and were already taking steps to regain access to the building. 'The culture is intact and the management and staff are ready to go back to work,' Mr. Foote said.
