Federal judge declines to block DOGE takeover of US Institute of Peace

WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Institute of Peace had failed to clear the high bar necessary for her to block the Trump administration’s effort to gut the international peace broker.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell declined to grant a temporary restraining order for five of the institute’s board members, who say they were unlawfully terminated via one-sentence emails, to return to their positions.

The proposed order would have barred agents for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency organization from accessing the institute’s headquarters, which they first accomplished with assistance from FBI agents, Department of State security personnel and several Metropolitan Police officers.

Howell, a Barack Obama appointee, was concerned that such an order would lead to a sort of armed standoff and instead ordered expedited briefing in the case to avoid such a messy intervention.

“I am very offended by how DOGE has operated at the institute and treated American citizens trying to do a job that they were statutorily tasked to do at the institute,” Howell said. “But that concern about how this has gone down is not one that can sway me in my consideration of the factors for a [temporary restraining order], which is an emergency relief that is extraordinary.”

In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia late Tuesday night, the board members described how DOGE agents arrived at the agency’s headquarters on Friday, after several board members received termination emails.

The DOGE agents, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh, were joined by Trump’s new pick to lead the institute, Kenneth Jackson, but were denied access.

They returned Friday evening with two armed FBI agents and provided the agency’s lawyer George Foote with a resolution signed by three board members stating that George Moose had been removed from his position as president.

Institute lawyer Andrew Goldfarb, of Zuckerman Spaeder, said Wednesday that FBI agent Doug Silk then called Colin O’Brien, the agency’s contracted head of security from security services company Inter-Con, on Sunday to request information about the agency’s security procedures.

Silk also reportedly told O’Brien he was the subject of a Justice Department investigation regarding the agency’s refusal to grant DOGE and the FBI access on Friday. O’Brien said in a declaration that he called his wife to lock the doors at their home over concerns FBI agents would show up to question him.

O’Brien then suggested the agency cancel its security contract with Inter-Con, resulting in the contractor’s ID and access cards being revoked, besides a physical key held by Kevin Simpson, the Inter-Con account manager for the institute.

On Monday, Simpson arrived with the key and Inter-Con Vice President Derrick Hanna, who told O’Brien that DOGE had threatened him, warning the company’s government contracts would be cancelled if they did not grant Jackson access to the building and return to work.

Simpson reportedly told Inter-Con guards to go to the arms storeroom, leading O’Brien to place the building on lockdown. Soon after, DOGE agents arrived, but were unable to enter due to the lockdown.

On Monday evening, Metropolitan Police officers responded to O’Brien’s report that Inter-Con staff and Simpson were trespassing three hours prior. One officer propped open a door to allow DOGE agents and Jackson to enter.

Once inside, DOGE agents called the FBI and the Department of State for assistance and ultimately remove Moose.

Justice Department attorney Brian Hudak argued Wednesday that Moose had effectively barricaded himself in his office and was refusing to leave, thus the use of law-enforcement officers was warranted.

Congress created the agency in 1984 via the U.S. Institute of Peace Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, as an independent national institute to provide education, training and peace information services to help resolve conflicts around the globe.

The agency is led by a 15-member board, on which no more than eight members can be from the same party. Three of the members serve at the “pleasure of the President,” but the remaining 12 members cannot be removed without just cause and without a majority recommendation.

Hudak argued that the agency was squarely within the executive branch and used predominately executive functions, such as receiving and disbursing funds and issuing grants.

Under Supreme Court precedent in Myers v. United States, Trump had full authority to remove such officials without Senate approval, Hudak said. The 1926 case was limited by the landmark was tempered by the landmark Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a case the Trump administration has brushed up against in several disputes over his sudden termination of agency heads and board members.

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