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The president Donald J. Trump ordered the renaming of the U.S. Institute of Peace (U.S. Institute of Peace, USIP) in Washington D.C., and according to an announcement released by the government, the Department of State has already implemented the name change this Wednesday.
“Welcome to the Donald J. Trump Peace Institute”, states the announcement, which presents the measure as a tribute “to the greatest negotiator in the country's history.”
The announcement was made during an international event held at the institute's headquarters: the official ceremony for the signing of a peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, described as a significant step towards ending a conflict that has lasted over three decades.
Trump, the president of the DRC Félix Tshisekedi, the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame, and about a dozen heads of state or representatives would attend the event, according to the same source.
The decision to rename the institute comes after an intense legal and political dispute regarding the future of the USIP.
A federal judge blocked the Trump Administration's attempt to close the institute in May, after determining that the takeover and dismantling were irregular.
Judge Beryl Howell of the United States District Court determined—according to the cited summary—that the headquarters was taken by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, using "brute force" with the backing of law enforcement agents from three local and federal agencies, and annulled the layoffs that followed that intervention.
The lawsuit was filed by former board members and the former president of the organization, who argued that the institute, by law, is an independent non-profit entity, and therefore the removal of its board did not meet legal requirements and also disregarded the congressional committees that oversee the USIP.
The ruling, according to the text, concluded that the institute does not perform functions of the Executive Branch and operates in research, teaching, and training related to global peace, which is why an executive order from February mandating its closure was judicially halted.
In that context, the announcement of the name change refocuses attention on the institute, which is now presented by the administration as the setting for an international peace signing and at the same time as an internal political symbol.
The statement concludes with a celebratory phrase: “The best is yet to come.”
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