The DOGE-affiliated acting president of the United States Institute of Peace, a Congressionally funded, independent think tank, has moved to transfer the agency’s $500 million headquarters building to the General Services Administration free of charge, according to court documents revealed in a recently filed lawsuit. Via Wired:

Tensions at USIP have been escalating for weeks, starting when the Trump administration fired the agency’s 10 voting board members on March 14 and USIP staffers denied DOGE representatives access at the front door. Three days later, DOGE employees made their way into the building, reportedly using a physical key from a former security contractor. The dramatic confrontations culminated in a full takeover, with former State Department official Kenneth Jackson assuming the role of president. As of this past Friday, most USIP staffers have received termination notices.

Former USIP officials have since filed a lawsuit against Jackson, DOGE, Donald Trump, and other members of the Trump administration, seeking an immediate intervention “to stop Defendants from completing the unlawful dismantling of the Institute,” according to the complaint. While US district judge Beryl Howell declined the USIP request for a temporary restraining order that would reinstate the institute’s board on March 19, she sharply criticized DOGE’s conquest in court.

Court documents filed by defendants on Monday reveal the next phase of DOGE’s plans for USIP. As of March 25, DOGE staffer Nate Cavanaugh—formerly installed at GSA—has replaced Jackson as the institute’s acting president, the documents show. They further state that Cavanaugh has been instructed to transfer USIP’s assets—including its real estate—to the GSA. The letter detailing those changes and instructions was signed by secretary of defense Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio.

[...] In a separate undated letter, which was also included in the batch of documents filed with the court, Cavanaugh writes to GSA acting administrator Stephen Ehikian: “I have concluded that it is in the best interest of USIP, the federal government, and the United States for USIP to transfer its real property located at 2301 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, to GSA and to seek an exception from the 100 percent reimbursement requirement for the building.”