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The return of the U.S. Institute of Peace [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-05-20
The last episode in this story was DOGE taking over the building with armed police, FBI, federal attorneys and their own security company Inter-Con turncoats.
They removed employees for "trespassing" and took down USIP's website. Trump fired the voting board members and the leftovers installed a new board.
Seeing as how they're not a federal agency and they own their own building, they went to court.
Judge Beryl Howell handled the case. You may remember she struck down the executive order against Perkins Coie on May 3rd.
Monday, Judge Howell put the fired board members back in charge.
She wrote: "The president second-guessed Congress and President Reagan in creating USIP 40 years ago, and the judgment of every Congress since then, including in 2024, in appropriating funds to USIP, when he deemed the organization 'unnecessary' three months ago in [his executive order]."
Judge Howell concluded that USIP is a government entity but exists outside of the three branches, comparing it to other quasi government institutions including the governing bodies of the Smithsonian museums. Thus, Trump's fairly broad (but not absolute) power to remove executive branch employees does not extend to the Institute.
Even better news is that this applies to other agencies such as the NLRB, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the FTC. I hope she means to include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At last check the Consumer Product Safety Commission had been shut down along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Judge Howell's 4 page decision is here (PDF).
The 102 page memorandum is here (PDF).
Trump's response by White House spokesperson Anna Kelly was predictable: "The United States Institute of Peace has existed for 40 years on a $50 million annual budget, but failed to produce peace... this rogue judge's attempt to impede the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter."
Trump administration spokespeople, press secretaries, lawyers and DOGE just don't know when to give up. The mountain of federal cases is at 244 on the Just Security Litigation Tracker on Monday. This one is still on the list because it is expected to be appealed. The decision applies to a number of other agencies under attack.
This case is a little different. Score one for peace.
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