Institute of Peace reclaims its headquarters after court win over Musk's cost-cutting team

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Institute of Peace retook control of its headquarters Wednesday, two days after a federal judge said the firing of its board and employees by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was illegal.

The institute's acting president, George Moose, entered the organization’s headquarters with private security and the institute's outside attorney for the first time since being escorted off the premises during the DOGE takeover. Moose and most of the institute's board were fired in March, part of the mass slashing of the federal workforce spearheaded by Musk.

The institute and many of its board members filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration soon after, seeking to prevent their removal and stop DOGE from taking over its operations. U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell's opinion on Monday reversed DOGE's actions.

Speaking after a short examination of the headquarters, Moose said all appeared to be in order.

“We just did a quick walk-through — externally, visibly, things look to be in pretty good shape,” he said. “I didn’t see anything, any destruction, if you will, no damage that I can see that is visible.”

Moose, a former ambassador and career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, said a team of employees from human resources, technology and finance would be in the building Thursday getting the nonprofit ready to welcome back its workforce. He expected to bring back all the staff who want to return.

In an email Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly did not comment on workers returning to the building, but signaled that the administration may challenge the decision.

“President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and the rogue judge’s attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter,” she said.

The administration filed a motion of appeal Wednesday evening and requested a stay of the judge’s ruling while that appeal is considered, arguing in part that Howell “erred” in concluding that the institution’s functions were not executive functions.

Agencies across the federal government have been slashed or dismantled by Musk's DOGE team. Wednesday’s low-key scene at the institute’s headquarters marked a rare moment when a DOGE-targeted agency or organization has been able to begin reestablishing itself.

The judge's ruling said the Trump administration did not have authority to unilaterally dismantle the institute, which was established by Congress in 1984 as an independent organization that would promote peace and seek to end conflicts around the world. It was operating in more than two dozen conflict zones at the time Musk's team took it over and shut it down.

The saga began when Trump issued an executive order in February that targeted the institute and three other agencies for closure in an effort to deliver on campaign promises to shrink the size of the government. The first attempt by DOGE to take over the headquarters led to a standoff. Members of Musk’s DOGE group returned days later with the FBI and District of Columbia Metropolitan Police to help them gain entry.

DOGE installed new leadership, ordered a mass firing of nearly all the staff through their private emails, and handed over the institute's headquarters to the General Services Administration.

The institute, concerned about liability and security of the building in the aftermath of the judge's ruling, reached out to the government attorneys earlier this week and again on Wednesday. George Foote, the institute's outside attorney, said the exchange was very smooth and orderly.

Moose said the goal now is to get back to the work the institute was created to do 40 years ago and “projects, ideas that are, we believe, of interest to the American people.”

The United State Institute of Peace building is pictured, Monday, May 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) acting President George Moose, left, and USIP acting counsel George Foote take part in a newss conference outside the Institute, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) acting President George Moose, second from right, and USIP acting Counsel George Foote, right, to talk to the press outside the Institute, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

U.S. Institute of Peace acting President George Moose talks during a news conference outside the Institute, Wednesday, May 21, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Congregants and leaders vowed to rebuild a historic Mississippi synagogue that was heavily damaged by fire after an individual was taken into custody for what authorities said Sunday was an act of arson.

The fire ripped through the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson shortly after 3 a.m. on Saturday, authorities said. No congregants were injured in the blaze.

Photos showed the charred remains of an administrative office and synagogue library, where several Torahs were destroyed or damaged.

Jackson Mayor John Horhn confirmed that a person was taken into custody following an investigation that also included the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“Acts of antisemitism, racism, and religious hatred are attacks on Jackson as a whole and will be treated as acts of terror against residents’ safety and freedom to worship,” Horhn said in a statement.

He did not provide the name of the suspect or the charges that the person is facing. A spokesperson for the Jackson FBI said they are "working with law enforcement partners on this investigation.”

The synagogue, the largest in Mississippi and the only one in Jackson, was the site of a Ku Klux Klan bombing in 1967 — a response to the congregation’s role in civil rights activities, according to the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, which also houses its office in the building.

“That history reminds us that attacks on houses of worship, whatever their cause, strike at the heart of our shared moral life,” said CJ Rhodes, a prominent Black Baptist pastor in Jackson in a Facebook post.

"This wasn’t random vandalism — it was a deliberate, targeted attack on the Jewish community,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of The Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement.

“That it has been attacked again, amid a surge of antisemitic incidents across the US, is a stark reminder: antisemitic violence is escalating, and it demands total condemnation and swift action from everyone,” Greenblatt said.

The congregation is still assessing the damage and received outreach from other houses of worship, said Michele Schipper, CEO of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life and past president of the congregation. The synagogue will continue its regular worship programs and services for Shabbat, the weekly Jewish Sabbath, likely inside of one of the local churches that reached out.

“We are devastated but ready to rebuild, and we are so appreciative of the outreach from the community,” said Schipper.

One Torah that survived the Holocaust was behind glass not damaged in the fire, Schipper said. Five Torahs inside the sanctuary are being assessed for smoke damage. Two Torahs inside the library, where the most severe damage was done, were destroyed, according to a synagogue representative.

The floors, walls and ceiling of the sanctuary were covered in soot, and the synagogue will have to replace upholstery and carpeting.

“A lot of times we hear things happening throughout the country in other parts, and we feel like this wouldn’t happen in our part," said chief fire investigator Charles Felton “A lot of people are in disbelief that this would happen here in Jackson, Mississippi.”

FILE - This Nov. 2, 2018 photo shows an armed Hinds County Sheriff's deputy outside of the Beth Israel Congregation synagogue in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, file)