Billionaire Elon Musk speaks during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis. Musk held the event to drive turnout for TuesdayÕs state Supreme Court election between Brad Schimel and Susan Crawford. Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Washington D.C. – The acting president of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a Congressionally funded think tank, has initiated the transfer of the agency’s $500 million headquarters to the General Services Administration (GSA) at no cost, according to court documents filed in an ongoing lawsuit.
Tensions at USIP have escalated since March 14, when the Trump administration dismissed the institute’s 10 voting board members. After staff initially denied access to representatives from DOGE—the entity now in control of the agency—DOGE personnel reportedly used a key from a former security contractor to enter the building three days later. This led to a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. Most USIP staffers have since received termination notices.
Former USIP officials have since taken legal action, filing a lawsuit against Jackson, DOGE, former President Donald Trump, and other administration officials, arguing that the takeover is unlawful. While U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell declined a temporary restraining order to reinstate the board on March 19, she strongly criticized DOGE’s seizure of the agency.
According to court filings from March 25, DOGE staffer Nate Cavanaugh, a former GSA official, has replaced Jackson as acting president of USIP. Documents reveal that Cavanaugh has been directed to transfer all USIP assets, including its headquarters at 2301 Constitution Ave NW, to the GSA. The directive was signed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Cavanaugh’s letter to GSA acting administrator Stephen Ehikian states, “I have concluded that it is in the best interest of USIP, the federal government, and the United States for USIP to transfer its real property… to GSA and to seek an exception from the 100 percent reimbursement requirement for the building.”
Russell Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director and Project 2025 architect, approved the request, writing to Ehikian that the reimbursement for the transfer should be set at zero cost.
Legal experts and former USIP officials argue this is a deliberate effort to dismantle the agency. “The effort to transfer the building to GSA is part of the DOGE playbook to run agencies through a wood chipper. That’s what they’re trying to do,” said George Foote, longtime outside general counsel to USIP. “They’re trying to kill the agency, which they have no right to do.”
Lawyers for former USIP staff filed a motion on Monday to block the asset transfer. Government attorneys countered by asserting that USIP is an executive agency and that the transfer aligns with President Trump’s February executive order aimed at limiting independent agencies’ autonomy.
Judge Howell is expected to rule on the asset transfer on Tuesday, with a broader decision on USIP’s future anticipated by the end of the month.
