In a controversial move, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C. has been officially renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The re-branding was announced by the U.S. Department of State on December 3, 2025, and the new signage, bearing the name of Donald J. Trump, is now displayed prominently on the building.
The change arrives after months of turmoil. Earlier in 2025, the Trump administration sought to dismantle USIP, firing nearly all staff and replacing its leadership under a new body called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That takeover triggered a lawsuit by USIP leaders, with a federal judge ruling in May that the removal of board members was unlawful. However, the ruling was later stayed by an appeals court, giving the government control over the institute again.
White House spokespersons defended the renaming, stating the new name honours Trump as the “greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history” and crediting him with ending several global conflicts in the past year.
Critics, however, call the move an affront to the institute’s original purpose. As former USIP staff lawyer argued, the naming “adds insult to injury,” especially since the legal case over control remains unresolved.
Supporters of the decision say it reflects Trump’s push to recast himself as a global peace broker. The renaming coincides with a high-profile press event: a U.S.-brokered peace deal between leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, set to be signed at the Institute’s headquarters.
Whether history will remember this renaming as legitimate or symbolic depends on ongoing litigation, and on if the institute regains its independent character and mission of promoting global diplomacy and non-violent conflict resolution.
