Board members of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a private nonprofit created by Congress, filed a lawsuit seeking to halt what they call an illegal takeover by the Trump administration that steps on congressional power.
The institute and five board members accused Trump administration officials — including the Department of Government Efficiency, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others — of illegally taking over the institute, including a dramatic physical takeover of the building this week.
The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday, detailed efforts from officials, which included enlisting private contractors, Washington police and the Justice Department, to gain access to the nonprofit after attempting to remove the institute’s board members and president.
The lawsuit contends that this interfered with a private nonprofit created by Congress during the Reagan administration with numerous provisions meant to boost its independence and limit its partisanship.
The actions to shut down the institute “exceed executive authority, usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, and violate the separation of powers,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia argues that the removal of the board members from the institute, and its president, George Moose, violated federal law and the Constitution. The board members on the lawsuit include John J. Sullivan, the institute board’s chair who was U.S. ambassador to Russia from December 2019 to October 2022, along with Judy Ansley, Joseph Falk, Kerry Kennedy and Mary Swig.
“Plaintiffs seek the immediate intervention of this Court to stop Defendants 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,” the lawsuit said.
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for Wednesday afternoon.
Trump’s effort to take over the institute began with a Feb. 19 executive order titled “Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” that incorrectly labeled the institute a government entity and called it “unnecessary”, the complaint said.
The institute was one of seven entities in that order, and the lawsuit is the latest in dozens of courtroom fights over Trump’s effort to assert broad, unilateral control over the federal government.
The Trump administration purported to remove all board members except ex officio members Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Vice Adm. Peter A. Garvin, according to the complaint. Those three then claimed to remove Moose from office, the complaint said.
Finally, on Monday, Trump officials staged a dramatic takeover of the institute, including enlisting the nonprofit’s fired security personnel and Washington police to enter and oust staff from the building.
The board members in the lawsuit ask a judge to order that the board can’t be removed or obstructed from carrying out its duties unless a court finds the Trump administration complied with the law that created the institute, and that Moose may not be removed as president.
The institute also asks a judge to prohibit Trump administration officials from trespassing on institute property and prohibit them from gaining any access or control over institute computer systems, accounts and more.
The lawsuit argues the Trump administration overran the oversight structure that Congress put in place to preserve the institute’s independence, which includes involvement from lawmakers.
The law made all program funding occur through public sources, including appropriations. When it comes to the 15 Senate-confirmed members of the board, three ex officio members serve at the pleasure of the president, the suit said. But the other 12 cannot be government employees, and no more than eight board members may be members of the same political party.
The law also says the president can only remove the 12 board members for a felony or other cause, if eight voting members recommend it or if a majority of the members of four congressional committees recommend it.
“The only Executive oversight authorized by Congress with respect to the Institute’s financial activities separate from the Executive’s narrow, statutorily prescribed relationship to the appointment and removal of the Board of Directors, is ‘the authority of the Office of Management and Budget to review and submit comments on the Institute’s budget request at the time it is transmitted to Congress,’” the lawsuit states.
Congress created the institute as an independent nonprofit in 1984, establishing rules protecting its board members and president from removal, the suit said.
The agency receives funding directly from Congress and received $55 million in fiscal 2023.
Wednesday’s lawsuit claimed that Trump administration officials appeared poised to reduce the institute to its “statutory minimum” operations, which included just maintenance of the board and providing reports to Congress.
Reducing the agency to those functions would require cancelling contracts, laying off staff and more efforts that would violate the law, the lawsuit said.
