The Trump administration is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the former USIP leadership and staff over who owns the institute. USIP’s staff has been fired twice, and the building is now in the possession of the General Services Administration as the sides await a definitive legal decision. In the meantime, the State Department affixed the president’s name to the building.
“President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace. It’s time our State Department display that,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X.
He was quoting the State Department’s announcement.
“This morning, the State Department renamed the former Institute of Peace to reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history. Welcome to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The best is yet to come,” it said in a post on X.
USIP’s former leadership and staff weren’t pleased with the change.
“Renaming the USIP building adds insult to injury. A federal judge has already ruled that the government’s armed takeover was illegal. That judgment is stayed while the government appeals, which is the only reason the government continues to control the building,” George Foote, counsel for former USIP leadership and staff, told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
“The rightful owners will ultimately prevail and will restore the U.S. Institute of Peace and the building to their statutory purposes,” he added.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the move in a statement to NPR, arguing that Trump had achieved far more for peace than the USIP had ever done.
“The United States Institute of Peace was once a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace. Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” she said.
Trump has positioned himself as an unparalleled peacemaker in his second term, pointing to his role in mediating conflicts across the globe. So far, the Trump administration has played a central role in stopping wars between Israel and Iran, Israel and Hamas, Thailand and Cambodia, and India and Pakistan, while engaging in peace negotiations to bring an end to wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine, and elsewhere.
The president has been vigorously seeking the Nobel Peace Prize for years, and appears to view his best chance as next year.
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