US Institute of Peace Fights Trump’s Authoritarian Ego-Trip to Deface Public Institution
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The US Institute of Peace and former board members urgently appealed to a federal court to halt the Trump administration’s reckless attempt to permanently plaster Trump’s name on the institute’s headquarters, a move seen as an assault on independent public institutions.
The US Institute of Peace and several former board members filed an emergency request with a federal appeals court on Thursday, seeking to block the administration from carving President Donald Trump’s name into the front of the agency’s headquarters. The institute, created by Congress in 1984 to help resolve conflicts, now faces the egotistical overreach of Trump, who first attached his name to the building in December after dismantling the independent agency and renaming it the Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace.
In the filing, the institute’s lawyers argue that the administration is dissatisfied with the temporary nature of the existing lettering and has moved to have the name permanently carved, noting that a formal request has been made and a contractor selected. This blatant power grab comes as Trump also seeks to erase his name from the Kennedy Center, where a federal judge recently ordered the center’s board to provide a 30-day notice before any demolition or new construction, highlighting the chaos and disregard for process that defines his tenure.
"We understand that a formal request for the work has been made and a contractor has been selected," the institute’s attorneys wrote.
The White House, consistent with its pattern of ignoring public accountability, has not responded to requests for comment.