Established by Congress in 1984, with legislation signed by Ronald Reagan and funded annually by Congress, the United States Institute of Peace, or USIP, was a well-respected, authoritative, independent, officially nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, until it was eviscerated by President Donald Trump early last year.

Its purpose was to promote conflict prevention and resolution worldwide and to provide analysis, research, and training in diplomacy, mediation, and peace-related activities. In 2011, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs wrote that USIP “helped to build the conflict management and resolution field, both as an area of study and as an applied science.”

The institute had a staff of 300 professionals; a budget of $55 million; published numerous research reports on peace issues around the world; and trained 65,000 professionals. Although the institute’s extremely useful database was wantonly destroyed, one can see the breadth and depth of its important work by sampling some of its publications here.

The Demise of the US Institute of Peace

Construction of an impressive $153 million building near the State Department was completed in 2011 but confiscated by the Trump administration in March 2025 with the help of the institute’s former security vendor, the FBI, and the DC Metropolitan Police. A few months later, it was renamed the “Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace” and has since become the home for his “Board of Peace.” An account of the events leading to this outcome explains the shameful way in which this was carried out:

The lesson from these two tragedies—the demise of the US Institute of Peace and the likely failure of the Board of Peace—is that voters must, in the future, avoid electing someone to a position of great power who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

One month after assuming office for the second time, on February 19, Trump signed an executive order calling for the elimination of USIP. The next day, USIP was contacted by a representative from the newly established “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), set up by Trump under Elon Musk—allegedly to reduce government expenditure, but actually to eliminate institutions that Trump and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 didn’t like. In a virtual meeting a few days later, USIP’s president-CEO and lawyer explained to three DOGE representatives that the institute was an “independent, nonprofit corporation outside the executive branch.”

When, on March 8, USIP’s president learned that DOGE had inquired about the status of the organization’s security arrangements, its lawyer contacted DOGE to explain that unauthorized personnel would only be admitted to the building with a valid court-issued warrant.

On March 14, all Biden-appointed members of USIP’s Board of Directors were fired by Trump. Three ex-officio members—Marco Rubio; Pete Hegseth; and Peter Garvin, president of the National Defense University—remained on the board.

The same day, a representative of DOGE and a State Department official arrived at USIP and requested entry, but were denied. That evening, two DOGE members arrived with FBI agents and a directive signed by Rubio, Hegseth, and Garvin to remove the president, naming a new acting president. They were again denied entry, with the USIP lawyer declaring the directive illegal.

The next day, the lawyer learned that two FBI agents had visited the home of USIP’s security vendor to discover how to gain physical entry to its headquarters; it was later reported that they threatened the vendor by warning that, if he didn’t comply, he would lose all government contracts. The lawyer contacted the FBI agents to inform them that all inquiries about USIP should be directed to him. Subsequently, the FBI also contacted USIP’s chief security officer to discuss the institute’s security procedures and threatened that he was the subject of investigation by the Department of Justice into denied entry.

Later that day, the US attorney for the District of Colombia Criminal Division Chief called the USIP lawyer, requesting access to the headquarters by Rubio and Hegseth to inspect records and books. The lawyer said he would provide access with a written request. The US attorney informed him that there was suspicion that USIP was engaging in criminal behavior. He also said that representatives would be sent to USIP headquarters the next day and that they would criminally investigate anyone who obstructed access.

USIP then suspended its security vendor’s contract, and its chief security officer deactivated the vendor’s staff badges and retrieved all physical keys except a master. But the next day, four security vendor employees arrived at USIP HQ and attempted to enter the building. They were ultimately admitted, but informed by the lawyer that they were trespassing. The chief security officer called 911 and reported them as intruders.

Armed Metropolitan Police officers then arrived at the USIP HQ and escorted the chief security officer, the USIP lawyer, and other staff from the building and turned the building over to DOGE.

Although members of the former Board of Directors contested the takeover in court, citing the agency’s independent status—and a first court ruling ruled in the institute’s favor—a federal court of appeals stayed the lower court’s ruling and, after a short reprieve, the building was returned to DOGE, which then took down USIP’s website, containing years of work.

It was later reported that DOGE’s physical occupation of the building led to thousands of dollars in damage, leaving the facility in disarray and littered with drugs and cockroaches.

The building and USIP’s assets were transferred to the General Services Administration and Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought (who was involved in Project 2025) signed off on the transfer. On December 3, 2025, the State Department had “The Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace” inscribed on the outside of the building.

The Formation of Trump’s Board of Peace

The Board of Peace (BOP) was established to implement Trump’s “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” a 20-point plan drawn up by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and subsequently negotiated with Israel and Hamas with input from a number of Arab and Muslim countries. The agreement was signed on October 9, 2025 and came into force the next day. It was endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on November 17, with 13 members of the council in favor and Russia and China abstaining.

The first phase of the plan began before the BOP was formed and involved the initial withdrawal of Israeli troops to agreed-upon deployment lines (although this did not hold and almost daily ceasefire violations ensued). It also involved the return to Israel by Hamas of all living hostages, as well as the remains of those deceased. This was followed by the release by Israel of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including remains of those deceased. Humanitarian aid was gradually reintroduced by UN agencies and their partners, although needs continue to be extensive and restoration of basic services is far from complete. The Rafah border crossing was also reopened, although sporadically closed again.

On January 15, 2026, Trump announced the formation of a Board of Peace whose charter (drawn up by his administration) named Trump as its chairman for life and gave him extensive unilateral powers over the board. In his usual self-congratulatory style, he wrote on Truth Social, “I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.” He added that it “would be the most consequential international body in History.”

In the future, the pursuit of international peace and security must be left to the United Nations, which represents the entire world; is backed by the force of international law; and has extensive experience.

Trump invited some 60 countries to join his BOP, including Israel, although no sub-Saharan African country was invited. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially refused because invitations had not been coordinated with him and he disapproved of invitations to Türkiye and Qatar. After further discussion with Trump, Israel agreed to join—along with 27 other countries. More than half of those invited, however, declined, concerned that its new charter was an attempt to establish a “Trump-dominated alternative to the United Nations” and could undermine the role of the UN and other multilateral organizations. Countries that agreed were appointed for a three-year term with those wanting lifetime membership required to contribute $1 billion.

It was also announced that Bulgarian Nikolay Mladenov, the former UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, would become director-general of the board and high representative for Gaza. As well, General Jasper Jeffers, was appointed commander of the planned International Stabilization Force.

A nine-member Executive Board was formed with seven who have close ties to Trump. The eighth member is Indian-born Ajay Banga, also a US citizen, who is president of the World Bank Group. Tony Blair is the only non-American.

Amid much fanfare,........

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