WASHINGTON: Cost-slashers of President Donald Trump and his billionaire friend Elon Musk seized control on Monday of the US Institute of Peace, ousting the leader of the taxpayer-funded centre for conflict resolution.

The non-violent show of resistance befitting the institution was one of the most dramatic showdowns by Trump as he tears through norms in his push to pare down Washington and implement his “America First” agenda.

Trump last month issued an order that the US Institute of Peace — signed into being by president Ronald Reagan in 1984 with a mission to help the United States prevent and resolve international conflicts — be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The institute said it was complying with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and presented evidence it was cost-effective.

It noted that the institute owns its building, a modern structure next to the State Department with sweeping views of the National Mall, and that its $55 million annual budget comes directly from Congress.

The DOGE team was not convinced and on Monday attempted to enter the building, leading the institute to refuse before issuing a statement in the name of its acting president George Moose: “DOGE has broken into our building.”

The Trump administration announced that it had fired all members of the institute’s bipartisan board except three, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2025