Judge denies effort to reinstate US Institute of Peace board, but criticizes DOGE's 'abominable' treatment of staff

A federal judge denied Wednesday an emergency effort by ousted officials at the United States Institute of Peace to have them immediately reinstated to their positions but assailed the Trump administration over what she described as "abominable" treatment to "strong-arm" them out of their office this week using armed agents acting on behalf of the Department of Government Efficiency.

"I'm very offended by how DOGE has operated at the Institute and treated American citizens trying to do a job that they were statutorily tasked to do at the Institute," District Judge Beryl Howell said. "But that concern ... Is not one that I have that can sway me in my consideration of the factors for a TRO."

Howell questioned counsel for USIP Andrew Goldfarb over the extraordinary series of events that led to DOGE agents -- with assistance from armed agents from the FBI, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, as well as attorneys from the D.C. U.S. Attorney's office, removing leadership from the office on Monday.

According to Goldfarb and sworn testimony from the ousted USIP leaders and the building's chief security officer, the institute received information as early as March 8 that DOGE staff was undertaking "reconnaissance efforts" to evaluate USIP's security operations.

Last Friday, when members of the USIP board of directors received emails that they'd been terminated from their positions, DOGE staff members arrived at the headquarters where they were denied entry by USIP's security staff. Later in the day, the DOGE staffers returned with FBI agents accompanying them and were again denied entry, court records say.

On Saturday, the top security officer for the institute then reported he was visited by two FBI agents at his home who questioned him over how to gain entrance to the building -- even though he was on medical leave and was caught off guard by their visit.

The agents then contacted another security officer and told him he was the subject of investigation by DOJ over his refusal to grant DOGE's agents access to USIP, after which he made the recommendation the institute terminate its relationship with the contractor that oversees the building's security operations after expressing concern that DOGE would turn the contractor against the existing staff.

The events led to a standoff at USIP's headquarters on Monday, where ousted leaders again initially denied entry to representatives of DOGE and the security contractor -- at one point ordering a full lockdown of the building "for safety purposes."

D.C. police ultimately arrived and escorted the members out of the building while granting access to DOGE's representatives.

"I mean, this conduct of using law enforcement, threatening criminal investigation, using armed law enforcement from three different agencies ... to carry out the executive order... with all that targeting probably terrorizing employees and staff at the institute when there are so many other lawful ways to accomplish the goals [of the executive order]... Why?" Howell asked. "Why those ways here -- just because DOGE is in a rush?"

Brian Hudak, an attorney for the government, defended the actions of the government, arguing that Trump's replacement as the acting USIP president, Kenneth Jackson, was the lawfully appointed head of the institute and those removed should not have been prevented his access to the building.

"The way that it's been portrayed in the papers from the plaintiffs and perhaps elsewhere that this was an assault or storming of the building — it is Mr. Jackson, who is president of the organization seeking access to his organization's building," Hudak said.

"Are you at least offended by how this was executed?" Howell pressed. "Because I have to say I'm offended on behalf of American citizens who've done so much -- as I've just said that, Mr. Moose himself, so much service to this country, to be treated so abominably, let alone the directors on the board."

"I will put it this way, to strong-arm a private contractor, to threaten this security chief -- threaten people with criminal investigation given the, you know, clear statute ... Doesn't that strike you as a little offensive?" she asked.

Hudak responded by presenting a hypothetical of if he were removed from his job by Trump and "decided to barricade myself into my office," he said. "That's basically what happened on Friday, as I understand it."

Hudak further argued that even if Trump didn't explicitly follow the statute that established USIP when moving to fire its acting president and board members, he was still justified in doing so under his Article II removal powers.

Howell, however, said the government was falling well short of showing that George Moose, the acting president of USIP fired by Trump, as well as other ousted board directors, were fired lawfully.

Hanging over Wednesday's proceedings was the unusual legal position of USIP in comparison with other federal agencies. The institute is technically an independent nonprofit corporation established by Congress and designed to have a bipartisan board of directors which vote to appoint its president.

Howell noted that judges in D.C.'s District Court and in other jurisdictions around the country have had to wrestle with a lack of clarity in legal precedent over the president's firing authorities that ultimately will have to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Further complicating the case by USIP's board members, was that the acting head fired by Trump, Robert Moose, wasn't technically added as a plaintiff to the lawsuit.

Howell said that she was unsure how she could restore him as USIP's president if he wasn't joining with other board members to specifically request it.

Howell also expressed concern over if she enjoined the government from essentially "trespassing" on the USIP premises, if that would risk inviting an "armed battle" if it refused -- given its previous willingness to bring armed agents to escort fired officials from the facility.