Judge Upholds Block on Trump Admin’s Shutdown of US Institute of Peace

The court discovers that the US Institute of Peace is not under enforcement control and rejects the administration’s request for stay.

A federal judge suspended her previous ruling that restored control of the US Institute of Peace (USIP), rejected the Trump administration’s bid on the proxy president and the board, blocking further administration attempts to dismantle the organization and establish new leadership.

In a seven-page decision issued on May 23, US District Judge Beryl Howell found that the government failed to meet any of the four legal requirements for stays, including showing potential for successful appeals or proof of irreparable harm. She explained that the administration’s legal theory is fundamentally flawed, reaffirming her previous conclusion that USIP is not part of the administrative division and therefore exceeds the president’s constitutional removal agency.

“While USIP may be considered part of the federal government, USIP does not exercise administrative power and therefore is not part of the administrative division, so the President does not have an absolute constitutional removal agency for members of the USIP Board, but must comply with the laws that exercise his right to remove.”

The judge had responded to the Trump administration’s request for stay in the May 19 ruling. This finds Trump’s efforts to fire former ambassador George Moose, the USIP board and acting president, are illegal and unconstitutional. The ruling also voided all subsequent measures taken by the administrative authorities, including the closure of the USIP program, the layoff of most staff, and the transfer of the agency’s headquarters to the General Services Bureau.

At the request of the judge’s ruling on May 21, a Trump administration lawyer claimed that USIP was not part of the administrative division and that “judicially cannot invent the fourth branch of the government, which will place the institute for legal reasoning.”

Government lawyers also argued that even though USIP holds a unique position, its directors are still presidential appointees who can be freely removed under the president’s Article II authority.

In a court application against the temporary restraining order early in the case, the administrative lawyer said it had established USIP, which established a signature statement of former President Ronald Reagan. They also argued that Congress cannot limit the president’s authority over officials who do not exercise quasi-defined or quasi-judicial functions that do not fall under the function of USIP.

Howell rejected the position, saying that USIP does not exercise administrative power and is therefore outside the scope of the President’s unlimited removal agency. The May 19 ruling she upheld Friday wrote that Congress explicitly constituted the institute so that Congress could operate independently, with protection against unilateral enforcement interference. Howell described the administration’s actions as “a total of power” carried out “by acts of force and threats using local and federal law enforcement officials,” and described the attempt to dismantle the institute “unnecessarily hurting dedicated leadership and UNIP employees who deserve better.”

Howell also found that the government failed to show that it would harm him without staying. In contrast, the USIP confusion writes that restored leadership is “so difficult” to take on the “work of rehiring employees and staving off the dissipation of USIP’s reputation for goodwill and independence.”

The USIP representative president rejoined the institute’s headquarters on May 21, accompanied by George Foot, the organization’s external lawyer. The administration requested an urgent two-year stay to make time for appeal, and Howell denied the request.

The legal battle began after Trump issued an executive order on February 19th after declaring USIP “unnecessary” and directed that its activities be excluded “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.”

On March 14, White House officials fired a board member confirmed by the Senate via email. On the same day, Moose was removed by remaining former staff members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses, and replaced by Kenneth Jackson, an employee of the U.S. International Development Agency.

Two days later, along with Jackson, officials from the Government Efficiency Bureau (DOGE) entered USIP headquarters along with police escorts, and almost all USIP staff were fired.

In a March 17 post on social media platform X, Doge allegedly rejected Kenneth Jackson (By By By), who was “approved by the USIP Committee, as approved by the USIP Committee). According to DC, officers at the DC Metropolitan Police Department later “arrived on the premises and escorted Mr Jackson into the building,” according to Doge.

The building was later moved to the General Services Bureau and leased to the Ministry of Labor.

The White House did not immediately respond to a court request for comment regarding the May 23rd ruling.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.