The U.S. Institute of Peace in Northwest D.C. boasts large, silver letters on its building that spell out Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The new name for the nonprofit comes after the eight wars that the president claims he ended.
“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,” the State Department posted Wednesday on X.
The White House account quoted the post and said simply, “The Peace President” followed by emojis of a dove and the U.S. flag.
The renamed building will host the signing of a peace treaty Thursday between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The pact is intended to end decades of fighting in the eastern portion of the Congo over mineral extraction rights and Hutu militias that fled Rwanda following President Paul Kagame’s victory in his country’s civil war.
Mr. Kagame and the Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, will be in attendance for the signing along with 10 other heads of state, per the Institute of Peace website.
The independent nonprofit was subject to staffing cuts and a purge of board members following an executive order in February, moves that were first shot down by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia who declared them and the administration’s takeover of the building illegal.
In June, that ruling was stayed by a federal appeals court, letting the firings proceed as the matter continues to be litigated.
“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. Congratulations, world!” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Washington’s WUSA-TV.
The organization is led by acting President Darren Beattie, who is also the senior official at the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
George Foote, an attorney representing the removed leadership and staff of the institute, told The Associated Press that the new name “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,” Mr. Foote said.
