The Department of Government Efficiency has taken over the U.S. Institute of Peace — with staff from the budget-slashing agency “breaking into” the nonprofit’s offices on Monday afternoon, according to a statement from USIP’s acting president and CEO, George Moose.
“DOGE has broken into our building,” read the one-line statement, which was shared with Devex around 5 p.m. Monday. No further information was given, but several hours later, DOGE posted on X a letter from three of USIP’s board members stating they were removing Moose from his position as president and that Kenneth Jackson — USAID’s assistant to the administrator for management and resources — had taken his place.
“Mr. Moose denied lawful access to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting USIP President (as approved by the USIP Board),” DOGE stated on X, the social media platform owned by the man who leads DOGE: billionaire Elon Musk.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
