Since its foundation, its work has extended beyond research into matters like negotiating local peace deals in Iraq or Nigeria. Much of its $55m budget was spent on grants to charities. The fact that USIP might become a target of the Trump administration was foreseeable.

The U.S. Institute of Peace has retaken control of its headquarters, two days after a federal judge said the firing of its board and employees by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was illegal.