United States Institute of Peace

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American independent, nonprofit, national institute established and funded by the United States Congress and tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training in diplomacy, mediation, and other peace-building measures. The institute's headquarters building is in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D ., at the northwest corner of the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Following years of proposals for a national peace academy, USIP was established in 1984 by legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan. The institute is governed by a bipartisan 15-member board of directors, which must include the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, and the president of the National Defense University. The remaining 12 members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. It has employed around 300 personnel and trained more than 65,000 professionals since its inception. In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order announcing his intention to dismantle the USIP. In March, he ordered that most of USIP's board of directors be fired. Under statute, the president may remove board members with the approval of the majority of the board or several congressional committees. The Department of Government Efficiency entered the USIP building to replace its leadership, fire its staff, and assume building ownership. Some of USIP's former leadership contested the legality of these moves in court, citing the agency's independent structure, and on May 19, Judge Beryl Howell ruled in USIP's favor. The government filed an appeal and sought to stay the ruling. After Howell denied the stay request, the U . Court of Appeals for the D . Circuit granted a stay pending appeal on June 27, 2025, temporarily pausing enforcement of the decision while the appeal proceeds. As of September 2025, the appeal was held in abeyance pending the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter. In December 2025, the State Department announced that the institute had been renamed the "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace," and President Donald Trump's name was attached to the facade of the building.