Maddow takes swing at DOGE’s gutting of pro-peace agency

Rachel Maddow took on the Trump administration’s escalating constitutional crisis Monday night, highlighting Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s illegal and forcible takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

“Isn’t like part of the executive branch. It’s an independent nonprofit created by Congress over 40 years ago. It’s largely funded by its own private endowment. The people who work there aren’t federal government employees,” Maddow said.

After seizing control of the USIP building, President Donald Trump removed 11 of the organization’s 15 board members. Musk has since announced firings of virtually all USIP staff, with plans to terminate the rest. 

USIP has filed a lawsuit, arguing that the executive branch has no authority over a department that was created and funded by Congress.

 “Included in a court filing tonight is this letter from the 28-year-old DOGE-bro, who has been installed as the ostensible new head of this institute, offering to give the institute’s headquarters building to the General Services Administration,” Maddow said.

She continued to point out that the Trump administration’s seizing of the USIP headquarters is nothing short of theft.

“The U.S. Institute of Peace owns its own headquarters and controls the land the building sits on. But apparently, now Donald Trump and his top campaign donor are trying to steal that building,” she said.

The Monday court filing included a letter from the newly installed DOGE board member, offering to transfer property rights to the U.S. General Services Administration. 

Musk recently said that he’ll be done with his DOGE destruction work by the end of May, which is when his 130 days of being a “temporary” federal worker expires. But when Trump was asked if DOGE would continue dismantling the government without Musk, Trump was non-committal. 

“Well, I can’t tell you that. I can say this, that a lot of the people working with DOGE are the secretaries, the heads of the various agencies, and they’ve learned a lot,” he told reporters on Monday. “I think some of them may try and keep the DOGE people with them, but you know, at a certain point, I think it will end.”

Good thing Trump isn’t a serial liar or anything.