Musk's DOGE could soon take over a $500m building the government doesn't actually own

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) may be an independent nonprofit organisation and is not part of the executive branch of government, but that hasn't stopped Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from seeking to transfer USIP's $500 million headquarters to the government’s General Services Administration for free.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled on Tuesday (April 1) that the transfer of the building (and everything inside it) has been completed. In fact, Howell's ruling says it had already been transferred on Saturday (March 29), WIRED reported.

The takeover has been fought by USIP leaders in the courts who have pointed to the fact that the nonprofit organisation is not a federal agency. Despite this, a temporary restraining order to put the brakes on DOGE’s takeover was denied in federal court by Judge Howell last month.

(Although DOGE's takeover methods were previously criticised by Judge Howell, who questioned the "conduct of using law enforcement, threatening criminal investigation, using armed law enforcement from three different agencies" to settle the dispute).

The US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2025Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

All 10 voting USIP board members were removed by the Trump administration on March 14, followed by DOGE then taking over the USIP. While USIP staff initially blocked DOGE officials from entering the building, DOGE later returned with a physical key reportedly obtained from a former security contractor.

However, the recent ruling doesn't mean the transfers are set in stone, since Judge Howell indicated a larger ruling on whether the board should be reinstated will also decide what happens to the USIP headquarters.

“This issue will be more fully addressed in the expedited summary judgment briefing being prepared by the parties,” she said, as per WIRED, with her final ruling expected near the end of April.

A pending lawsuit from USIP officials against DOGE, President Trump, former USIP President Kenneth Jackson, and others involved didn't stop termination letters from being sent to most USIP employees (200-300 people) on Friday, (March 28).

One terminated employee told the Washington Postthat the letters were "riddled with mistakes" as employee names, the month of April, and the institute's title were misspelled.

Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, former USIP President Kenneth Jackson (an ex-State Department official who DOGE put in place as acting president only weeks ago) was replaced by 28-year-old DOGE staffer Nate Cavanaugh, who is a tech entrepreneur and college dropout.

State Secretary Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (both USIP board members) signed a resolution to appoint Cavanaugh as acting president, according to a federal court filing.

The resolution instructed Cavanaugh to transfer the USIP's assets, which include its headquarters, to the General Services Administration, Business Insider reported.

Elsewhere, Is DOGE shutting down? Donald Trump shares what could happen if Elon Musk steps down, and Trump voters admit they 'made a mistake' after being hit by DOGE cuts.

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