Defund the U.S. Institute of Peace?

In an article today ("Small Budget Cuts Add Up"), Reps. Jason Chaffetz (Republican of Utah) and Anthony Weiner (Democrat of New York) call the U.S. Institute of Peace a "case study in how government waste thrives" and calls its $54 million in public funding in 2011 a "misuse of taxpayer money." To which I respond:

The USIP logo.

As a former board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace, one who has publicly pointed out its malign actions, I enthusiastically endorse the Chaffetz-Weiner initiative to defund the USIP. I became aware during my tenure on the board, 2003-05, that the organization performs little worthwhile service to the taxpayer but rather that it forwards a political agenda. Americans who wish to fund such an organization are free to do so, but it should not be a public burden. (February 16, 2011)

Feb. 19, 2011 update: Bravo to the House for cutting off all funding to USIP.

Feb. 24, 2011 update: Al Kamen reviews the bidding at "U.S. Institute of Peace loses all federal funds under House spending plan."

Mar. 16, 2017 update: The Trump administration proposed budget would axe USIP completely, saving $35.3 million in taxpayer funds. Naturally, the Washington Post article on this by Carol Morello only quotes horrified USIP supporters. She did not contact me.

Mar. 18, 2025 update:

— Pres. George W. Bush nominated me to the board of the US Institute of Peace (@USIP)
— @CAIRNational tried to block me
— I joined the board anyway
— But the USIP staff sided with CAIR vs me
— So, naturally, I enjoyed this news item today:https://t.co/xSWcjBI47T

— Daniel Pipes دانيال بايبس 🇺🇦 (@DanielPipes) March 18, 2025

Mar. 29, 2025 update: Headline: "DOGE fires nearly all staff at U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters. Employees who worked at the headquarters of the institute, founded and funded by Congress, received late-night termination notices, though most of its overseas staff were left in place.

Here is that termination notice:

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And here is what greets me on arriving at the U.S. Institute of Peace website:

June 12, 2025 update: The bad news: the USIP website is back online. The good news: the board has resigned en masse.

Dec. 3, 2025 update: Obnoxiously, the USIP has been renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.

Comment: At least we know this is temporary. Will the next Democrat or Republican be the one to delete Trump's name?

Mar. 29, 2026 update:

This newly released body cam footage from the March 2025 DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace shows the insane resistance Trump faced from day one.

As Edward Coristine (aka Big Balls) told Jesse Watters last year, this was the "least peaceful" of all the agencies to deal with,... pic.twitter.com/NH8tu2medO

— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) March 8, 2026