1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

As your constituent, I am writing because the executive branch has taken it upon itself to dismantle the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), an institution that Congress created and that only Congress has the authority to change. I am asking Congress to defend that authority and protect USIP. USIP PERFORMS A VITAL FUNCTION Congress established USIP in 1984 as a nonpartisan institution. It studies conflicts, trains diplomats and peacebuilders, supports mediation, and helps the United States address crises before they grow into wars. This work can protect diplomats, reduce the risk that service members will enter larger conflicts, limit openings for hostile powers, and lessen displacement, hunger, and civilian deaths. Prevention can spare taxpayers the greater costs of military action, relief, and reconstruction. AN UNPRECEDENTED BREAK WITH PAST PRACTICE Congress has not abolished USIP or changed its mission. Yet the executive branch removed its leadership, dismissed employees, disrupted programs, and seized its headquarters. This dramatically departs from the normal process, under which Congress changes institutions it creates and funds through legislation, debate, and oversight. REMOVAL POWER IS NOT ABOLITION POWER A federal district court ruled in United States Institute of Peace v. Jackson (May 2025) that major parts of the takeover were unlawful, but the appeals court stayed that judgment. In June 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential removal power. The ruling left unresolved whether USIP may be abolished, renamed, or repurposed without new legislation. CONGRESS’S POWERS ARE AT STAKE The issue is larger than USIP. If the executive branch, acting without legislative authority, may dismantle and repurpose an institution Congress created, Congress’s powers over lawmaking, funding, and oversight are weakened. CONGRESS SHOULD ACT NOW I urge you to: (1) RESTORE AND PRESERVE OPERATIONS PENDING LITIGATION. Use Congress’s appropriations and oversight authority to restore USIP’s lawful functions and prevent further dismantling while the litigation remains pending. (2) HOLD HEARINGS. Examine leadership changes, staff dismissals, interrupted programs, finances, records, property transfers, and headquarters use. (3) PRESERVE PUBLIC ASSETS. Temporarily prohibit the sale, transfer, renaming, or unrelated use of USIP’s property and remaining funds. (4) ORDER AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW. Direct the Government Accountability Office to examine compliance with the law creating USIP, funding, property, and records requirements. (5) REQUIRE A FULL ACCOUNTING AND PLAN. Require an inventory of funds, contracts, grants, personnel actions, property transfers, and programs, with an operating plan submitted within 60 days. (6) PROTECT CONGRESS’S AUTHORITY. Require congressional approval before USIP may be permanently renamed, abolished in practice, or fundamentally repurposed. Thank you.