DOGE Loses Shady Battle to Take Over $500 Million Nonprofit Building

A federal judge on Monday struck down the Department of Government Efficiency’s takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace, saying that DOGE’s actions two months ago were “unlawful” and “null and void.”

In March, Elon Musk’s DOGE used law enforcement and private security to take over the USIP and its Washington, D.C., headquarters despite the fact that the think tank, created by Congress during the Reagan administration, is an independent nonprofit not controlled by the federal government. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell pointed out these issues in her ruling.

“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 “effectuated by illegitimately installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void,” Howell wrote.

The institute was shuttered without the authorization or consultation of Congress, “rushed through action” with “blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies” to carry out President Trump’s executive order, the ruling states.

Why did DOGE so blatantly target an organization that isn’t part of the executive branch and only receives congressional funding to prevent outside influence? The answer lies in the valuable real estate of USIP’s headquarters: a $500 million building in a prime location between the Potomac River and the National Mall.

DOGE installed its staffer, Nate Cavanaugh, as acting president of the USIP, and he was ordered to transfer the USIP building to the government’s General Services Administration in late March. Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget and an author of Project 2025, also sought to have the building transferred at no cost. Now those plans have been blocked, and the public is wondering what DOGE and Project 2025’s intentions were for that building.