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Associated Press
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration's request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board. In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a 'strong showing' of whether its request could succeed on the merits. Howell reiterated her finding that the Institute is not part of the executive branch and is therefore beyond President Donald Trump's authority to fire its board. She added that the firings also did not follow the law for how a board member of the Institute might be removed by the president. Most of the board was fired in March during a takeover of the Institute by the Department of Government Efficiency. That action touched off the firing of its acting president, former ambassador George Moose, and subsequently most of the staff. The organization's headquarters, funded in part by donors, was turned over to the General Services Administration. In her ruling May 19, Howell concluded that the board was fired illegally and all actions that followed that were therefore 'null and void.' In Friday's ruling Howell also rejected the government's argument that the organization had to fall into one of the three branches of government and since it does not legislate, nor is it part of the judicial branch, it must be part of the executive branch. 'As the Court has previously pointed out, other entities also fall outside of this tripartite structure,' she wrote. Howell also said that the government did not 'describe any cognizable harm they will experience without a stay, let alone an irreparable one.' However, 'as plaintiffs explain, every day that goes by without the relief this Court ordered, the job of putting (USIP) back together by rehiring employees and stemming the dissipation of USIP's goodwill and reputation for independence will become that much harder.' Moose reentered the headquarters Wednesday without incident along with the organization's outside counsel, George Foote. The White House was not immediately available for comment. In requesting the stay the government also requested a two-business-day stay to allow for an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Howell denied that request.
Arab News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US judge rules Trump unlawfully ousted board members of Institute of Peace
WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that the Trump administration illegally ousted leaders of the US Institute of Peace, calling the effort a 'gross usurpation of power.' In her decision, US District Judge Beryl Howell said Republican President Donald Trump overstepped his power when his administration removed five board members without cause from the nonprofit organization, which is funded by the US Congress. The administration's efforts to control the direction of the Institute of Peace became a public standoff in March, when some staff of the organization locked the building's doors to bar members of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from entering. Local police were called and subsequently expelled the organization's leadership, including its president. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement called the Institute of Peace a 'failed' organization, and said Trump acted lawfully in reducing the group's budget. 'This rogue judge's attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter,' Kelly said. Lawyers for the board members who sued did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Institute was founded by Congress in 1984 with a mandate to protect US interests by helping to prevent violent conflicts and broker peace deals abroad. Howell said the administration's move to control the group 'by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, 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 Justice Department, which had argued the board members were lawfully removed, can appeal Howell's order to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Howell in March ruled against the Institute's request for a temporary, emergency order to stop the Trump administration from controlling the organization.
