Blocking Building Engravings
Former Board Members Urge Court to Block Trump Building Engraving in D.C.
Anonymous
Key Points
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The dispute stems from an earlier takeover effort in which Department of Government Efficiency staffers seized the Constitution Avenue headquarters with assistance from District of Columbia police and the FBI; the lawsuit was filed soon afterward by ousted board members and the institute’s president.
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While the litigation proceeds, the headquarters is under State Department control and has largely been used as an event space rather than for the institute’s normal operations.
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The filing says the former board members asked Kenneth Jackson, the administration-installed acting president of USIP, to ensure that the engraving would not proceed while their effort to preserve the nonprofit continues.
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USIP was created in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan to support training and research aimed at promoting democracy around the world, providing historical context for the former board members’ argument that the building represents an independent public mission.
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The filing also argues that the appellate court’s stay has extended the case’s briefing by nearly a year beyond the original schedule, making a temporary order preserving the building’s current condition especially important while the appeal remains unresolved.
Former leaders of the U.S. Institute of Peace asked a federal appeals court for emergency help to stop the Trump administration from permanently engraving the president's name on their Washington headquarters WUSA9. The institute's building on Constitution Avenue already has removable silver letters spelling "Trump" bolted to it, added in December after the administration took control Gephardtdaily. The former board members argue that carving Trump's name into the stone would destroy the building's independent character and harm the institute's 40-year mission to promote democracy worldwide News Nation.
How Trump's Name Made It to the Building
The Trump administration took control of the U.S. Institute of Peace in late 2024 and renamed it the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace Denver Gazette. Within weeks, removable silver letters spelling Trump's name were bolted to the building's facade. Now officials want to make the move permanent by engraving the name directly into the stone Alto. This would be much harder to undo than the bolted letters currently in place.
A Court Already Said the Takeover Was Illegal
A federal judge ruled in 2025 that the Trump administration's effort to dismantle the institute was unlawful News Nation. But an appeals court put that decision on hold while the case continues. This pause has stretched the legal battle nearly a year longer than originally planned Denver Gazette. The former board members say the building's condition must be frozen while the appeal proceeds, before any engraving happens.
Why This Building Matters to the Institute's Mission
The U.S. Institute of Peace was created in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan as a congressionally funded nonprofit Denver Gazette. Its job is to train people and fund research aimed at spreading democracy and peace around the world. The headquarters building was built with private funds, not government money WUSA9. Former board members argue that the building itself represents the institute's independent purpose, separate from any president's political goals Denver Gazette.
The White House Dismisses the Legal Challenge
The Trump administration defended the renaming and called the lawsuit frivolous WUSA9. The headquarters is now controlled by the State Department and mostly used as an event space instead of for the institute's normal work. The acting president appointed by the administration has not promised to stop the engraving News Nation. This dispute echoes Trump's separate efforts to add his name to the Kennedy Center.
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