George Moose, formerly of the Institute of Peace, speaks to members of the media on March 17, 2025. (Getty Images)
The Institute of Peace, however, did not comply with the February executive order to reduce its size to the statutory minimum, leading to the Trump administration to fire 11 of its 14 board members last week, Fox Digital learned.
"President Trump signed an executive order to reduce USIP to its statutory minimum," Kelly said. "After noncompliance, 11 board members were lawfully removed, and remaining board members appointed Kenneth Jackson acting president."
The remaining board members include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Defense University President Peter Garvin, who on Friday fired acting president and CEO of the institute, George Moose.
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Moose is a Clinton-era diplomat who served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The board replaced Moose with Kenneth Jackson, a State Department official, as acting president.
Jackson attempted to enter the Institute of Peace's building in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, but was denied access by employees of the institute, an administration official told Fox News Digital.
Signage reading "No Trespassing" is seen on doorways to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) building headquarters on March 18, 2025, in Washington. (Getty Images)
"MPD members met with the acting USIP President, and he provided the MPD members with documentation that he was the acting USIP President, with all powers delegated by the USIP Board of Directors to that role," the police department said in a news release of Monday's incident. "The acting USIP President advised MPD members that there were unauthorized individuals inside of the building that were refusing to leave and refusing to provide him access to the facility."
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"MPD members went to the USIP building and contacted an individual who allowed MPD members inside of the building," the release stated. "Once inside of the building, the acting USIP President requested that all the unauthorized individuals inside of the building leave."
The Institute of Peace filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, March 18, 2025, in the D.C. District Court. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
The standoff follows other "rogue bureaucrats" at the U.S. African Development Foundation who barred another DOGE team and the acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Peter Marocco from gaining entry to that building March 12.
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The DOGE team returned to USADF the next day accompanied by U.S. Marshals after the Department of Justice determined that they had a right to enter the building, a White House official told Fox News Digital at the time. USADF is an independent government agency established in 1980 by Congress to support "African-owned and African-led enterprises," according to its website.
The Trump administration gutted the Institute of Peace of "rogue bureaucrats" who held a tense standoff with a Department of Government Efficiency team March 17, 2025, that required police intervention. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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USADF President Ward Brehm, who was fired by the administration last week, subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a district court to bar the administration from removing him from his position. A federal judge denied Brehm's request. Marocco was named as acting chairman of USADF's board.
Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-guts-institute-peace-rogue-bureaucrats-after-doge-standoff-government-office