White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to reports of the fired president and CEO of the Institute of Peace (USIP) ‘barricading’ himself in the building as DOGE attempted to gain entry.
On Monday, the fired president, George Moose, refused to leave the Institute of Peace’s building in Washington DC, prompting a standoff with law enforcement.
The Institute of Peace was created in 1984 under the Reagan Administration. George Moose is an old Clintonite who refused to leave after Trump signed an executive order last month reducing the USIP to its “statutory minimum.”
DOGE attempted to evict George Moose and other officials of the USIP on Monday but Musk’s workers were forced to call law enforcement amid a standoff.
“The standoff hit a fever pitch Monday when [acting USIP president Kenneth Jackson] and the DOGE team attempted again to gain entry to the building, while Moose, who already had been fired, accused them of breaking into the building and vowed to file a lawsuit. An administration official told Fox Digital that Moose “basically barricaded himself” in his former office after he was fired,” Fox News reported.
“MPD members met with the acting USIP President, and he provided the MPD members with documentation that he was the acting USIP President, with all powers delegated by the USIP Board of Directors to that role,” the Metro Police said in a statement, according to Fox News. “The acting USIP President advised MPD members that there were unauthorized individuals inside of the building that were refusing to leave and refusing to provide him access to the facility.”
“MPD members went to the USIP building and contacted an individual who allowed MPD members inside of the building,” the Metro police said. “Once inside of the building, the acting USIP President requested that all the unauthorized individuals inside of the building leave.”
George Moose was escorted out of the building by MPD without incident. No arrests were made.
Mr. Moose denied lawful access to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting USIP President (as approved by the USIP Board). @DCPoliceDept arrived onsite and escorted Mr. Jackson into the building. The only unlawful individual was Mr. Moose, who refused to comply, and even tried to fire USIP’s… https://t.co/Fy8hJClx9E pic.twitter.com/yqq81qNKXM
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 18, 2025
George Moose called it an “illegal takeover.”
WATCH:
DOGE evicted the president and several officials of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on Monday, even though it was an independent organization and not a government agency.
Read more: https://t.co/T2ttl26pp5 pic.twitter.com/WgDQtUudqD
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 18, 2025
A White House reporter for The Daily Wire asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the incident on Wednesday.
“So on the United States Institute of Peace, this is a little bit wild. I understand the old president refused to leave after he was removed from his position, he barricaded himself in his offices, had to be escorted out by police, left the building without WiFi, telephones, elevators, and more, and is now telling media that DOGE brok In and illegally removed him. So can you comment on this sequence of events and specify did DOGE illegally enter?” A Daily Wire reporter asked Karoline Leavitt.
Karoline Leavitt called it “resistance from the bureaucrats who don’t want to see change” in DC.
“I’m really glad you brought this up, Mary. We were made aware of this story by individuals at DOGE, at Elon Musk’s team and also at the State Department, who were unable to access this building and it became very clear that there was a concerted effort amongst the rogue bureaucrats at the United States Institute of Peace to actually physically barricade themselves essentially inside of the building to prevent political appointees of this administration who work at the direction of the President of the United States to get into the building,” Karoline Leavitt said.
“There was a piece in the Daily Caller — thank you for sharing the truth on this about what happened. Staff contacted the MPD in an attempt to prevent DOGE personnel from entering. They barricaded the doors. They also — disabled telephone lines, internet connections, and other IT infrastructure within the building. They distributed flyers internally encouraging each other to basically — prevent these individuals from accessing the building. I use this to say this is what DOGE and this administration is facing. It’s a resistance from bureaucrats who don’t want to see change in this city. President Trump was elected on an overwhelming mandate to seek change and implement change, and this is unacceptable behavior,” Leavitt said.
WATCH:
.@realDailyWire’s @MaryMargOlohan: “So on the United States Institute of Peace, this is a little bit wild. I understand the old president refused to leave after he was removed from his position, he barricaded himself in his offices, had to be escorted out by police, left the… pic.twitter.com/lIveJhds1m
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2025
Partial transcription and video courtesy of NewsBusters
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