Democracy Docket reports:

An independent nonprofit created by Congress to promote peace efforts around the world filed a lawsuit late Tuesday to block an aggressive takeover by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) board members, including former U.S. ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, asked the D.C. District Court to stop DOGE from “completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute and irreparably impairing Plaintiffs’ ability to perform their vital peace promotion and conflict resolution work as tasked by Congress.”

George Moose, who was fired as the institute’s acting president last week, is also challenging his dismissal.

DOGE’s takeover of USIP marks the Trump administration’s latest move in its broad assault on independent agencies and organizations that were created by Congress to function without direct control from the White House. The administration has been particularly aggressive toward independent agencies tied to foreign assistance work.

Trump ordered USIP to be effectively shuttered in an executive order in February despite protests that the institute is not part of the executive branch, igniting a standoff between USIP and Trump officials

On Monday, Trump administration officials illegally fired most of USIP’s board of directors, while on Tuesday DOGE officials trespassed into USIP’s headquarters “in an effort to access and gain control of the Institute’s infrastructure,” the lawsuit alleges. [Continue reading…]