The State Department has renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) after President Donald Trump, months after he unsuccessfully lobbied to receive the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
“This morning, the State Department renamed the former Institute of Peace to reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation's history,” the State Department posted on Wednesday.
Highlights
- The U.S. Institute of Peace was renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace by the State Department.
- The renaming followed a controversial takeover by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which ousted staff and seized control.
- A federal judge ruled the DOGE takeover unlawful, but the ruling is stayed pending appeals, keeping the government in control.
- The White House defended the rename, claiming Trump ended eight wars and emphasizing his record of making peace deals.
“Welcome to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The best is yet to come.”
The institute has been named after Donald Trump, months after DOGE gutted it
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The X post was accompanied by an image showing Trump’s name on the building, with the change made the day before Trump hosts leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will officially sign a peace agreement at the institute on Thursday.
USIP was founded by Congress in 1984 as an independent and federally funded organization aimed at preventing and resolving violent conflicts around the globe.
The rebranding comes after Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) forcibly took over the organization in March, declaring it “unnecessary.”
DOGE, backed by law enforcement, seized control of the Washington, D.C., headquarters, ousted its leadership, and fired nearly all the staff.
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
A federal judge later ruled that the takeover was unlawful, but that order has been stayed while appeals move forward.
“Renaming the USIP building adds insult to injury,” George Foote, counsel for former USIP leadership and staff, said in a statement.
“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.
“The rightful owners will ultimately prevail and will restore the U.S. Institute of Peace and the building to their statutory purposes.”
George Foote, right, said the renaming adds insult to injury
Image credits: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The White House defended the move to rename USIP, with spokesperson Anna Kelly telling CNN the institute 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.
The claim that Trump ended eight wars in 2025 is widely disputed.
Among the conflicts cited are tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a truce between Thailand and Cambodia after a border clash, and renewed diplomatic efforts between Rwanda and the DRC.
Trump has also pointed to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, along with agreements involving India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
While each represents some form of diplomatic engagement or temporary pause in hostilities, analysts note that none amounts to a comprehensive peace settlement that brings the underlying conflicts to a definitive close.
Additionally, most of those conflicts were not active wars, but rather long-standing disputes or intermittent border skirmishes.
Despite this, Trump and the White House have continually repeated that he ended eight wars, with the president using it as a basis to lobby for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump was nominated for the award by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that nomination came after the cutoff for the 2025 prize.
Venezuelan opposition activist María Corina Machado won this year for her work promoting democracy and a peaceful transition from dictatorship in her country.