DOGE wants to transfer ownership of $500 million USIP building to executive branch

After overseeing massive firings on Friday, newly appointed U.S. Institute for Peace head Nate Cavanaugh has moved to transfer ownership of the independent think tank’s assets to the General Services Administration, including the organization’s $500 million headquarters.

According to a Monday filing, Mr. Cavanaugh has been instructed to begin the transfer of all USIP assets to the GSA, which is under the authority of the executive branch. Mr. Cavanaugh was ordered to begin the transfer in a letter signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“I have concluded that it is in the best interest of USIP, the federal government, and the United States for USIP to transfer its real property located at 2301 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, to GSA and to seek an exception from the 100% reimbursement requirement for the building,” Mr. Cavanaugh wrote in a letter to acting GSA Administrator Stephen Ehikian included in Monday’s filing.

Mr. Cavanaugh estimated that USIP’s property on Constitution Avenue is worth $500 million.

Lawyers for USIP moved quickly to prevent DOGE’s efforts to transfer the organization’s assets, asking a judge on Monday to block the move. The lawyers assert that DOGE’s efforts are illegal, pointing out that USIP is an independent agency created by Congress and is not under the executive’s authority.

D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell was to rule on the asset transfer on Tuesday. 

Office of Management and Budget head Russel Vought echoed Mr. Cavanaugh’s desire in a separate letter included in Monday’s filing, urging Mr. Ehikian to approve the transfer.  

Mr. Cavanaugh, who works for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, was installed as USIP’s acting president on March 25, replacing former State Department official Kenneth Jackson. Just a few days after his appointment, Mr. Cavanaugh oversaw massive layoffs at the organization, with nearly every employee receiving a termination notice. 

Mr. Cavanaugh also has ties to the GSA. Last month, he reportedly interviewed several GSA employees as a part of DOGE’s efforts to trim government spending through layoffs. 

Justice Department lawyers say USIP is an executive agency and that the transfer of its assets is consistent with President Trump’s executive order from February. That order targeted USIP and other groups in an attempt to eliminate “independent organizations.”

Following the order, DOGE workers tried to enter USIP’s headquarters in March but were turned away by the organization’s lawyers. However, DOGE came back just days later and gained access to the building with the help of local law enforcement. DOGE staffers ejected USIP staff and installed Mr. Jackson as acting president.

The White House also worked to dismantle USIP’s board of directors, removing all but three members. Those left include Mr. Rubio, Mr. Hegseth and National Defense University President Peter A. Garvin. USIP officials and staffers have called the firings illegal.

Lawyers for USIP asked Judge Howell to block DOGE’s access to the building following the takeover. While she rejected the lawyers’ calls to stop DOGE from taking over USIP headquarters, she criticized the department’s tactics.

“Are you the least bit offended by how this was executed?” she asked Department of Justice attorney Brian Hudak. “Because I have to say I’m offended on behalf of the Americans that did so much service for the country to be treated so abominably, not to say the directors on the board.”