A very Washingtonian war Security guards switching allegiances? Armed Washington, D.C. police? FBI agents knocking on doors for a “cordial conversation,” before threatening Department of Justice investigations? Computers and other pieces of furniture strewn across an office floor? Honestly, what the hell is happening at the U.S. Institute of Peace? It’s been the site of a dayslong pitched battle <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POqvSHLdbm6cIFmRn3o_wAi-UKhAqMgkCDjnhaazjmWuQ4NbKJYeC9IdEqdRxB-RYVq0fz7drc0S5F5551Wtm1np7O4AMdUfPgtp2f1nyuM8VLqyJsbZLshfeVNa-mdJ0QY7Z7RV87wwkmNQ_en4jv3I-2LUEDi8gL1mlRaUF8iwONkZhIXw6YvWtWuvEFhcI3l31fum_Z4pm88KkWXFnUlqA_XyfOpJynm3spfEwO9xS7KXOgKeYDY0ndSAhKucgIw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZUjNa6cve5_COxhXXcqzAa7cbElUwsSmIxKCmk6J-oUm5_B6qH3ip1bcILNhnIVF-wcirujo=> between USIP <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZUjNa6ERCPm1A9AkxtpP3zxqb66k5fUhxYxxW_r9Vddj3YwWa2ohNiNtdh6IFPRm0sXjjZrM=> staff and DOGE *to seize the small nonprofit’s building in Washington, D.C*. In a perverse way, the determination exhibited by both sides has been impressive. The battle of wills is now playing out — surprise, surprise — in the courts, where *USIP staff are suing DOGE employees*, Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and others to prevent them from commandeering their government-funded nonprofit. But the plaintiffs were *dealt an initial defeat yesterday* when a judge refused to issue an emergency restraining order that would have temporarily halted DOGE from taking over USIP. The battle is — again, surprise, surprise — far from over. Both parties are expected to present expedited briefing schedules today. In the meantime, Elissa has the inside story of how things escalated so quickly — and *the account reads like a wartime siege*. “We beat them in several of the first rounds. But when they finally escalated to enough force, they were able to control the building,” says one USIP official. “I have never, in my professional capacity, experienced a situation like this.” *Read:* US Institute of Peace and Elon Musk's DOGE battle for control of USIP <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POqvSHLdbm6cIFmRn3o_wAi-UKhAqMgkCDjnhaazjmWuQ4NbKJYeC9IdEqdRxB-RYVq0fz7drc0S5F5551Wtm1np7O4AMdUfPgtp2f1nyuM8VLqyJsbZLshfeVNa-mdJ0QY7Z7RV87wwkmNQ_en4jv3I-2LUEDi8gL1mlRaUF8iwONkZhIXw6YvWtWuvEFhcI3l31fum_Z4pm88KkWXFnUlqA_XyfOpJynm3spfEwO9xSfV4FySTDqLRFPLpUZ6YtZA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZUjNa6cve5_COxhXXcqzAa7cbElUwsSmIxKCmk6J-oUm5_B6qH3ip1bcILNhnIVF-wcirujo=> *ICYMI:* DOGE ‘breaks into’ the US Institute of Peace <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkBQh3h_iqvAUwrNHENibFMYNqM57AJwxk4ZBPtDwCh6Hc6dRutby8uQYwNY7Ybk0EWD9cUUBA1L4q6yuzNskHwX2Vr4VhOqBzz-kiwOTPywV-wzdtFl8U4A_E651xX5nc_COLeszVltM0kwGT9uoanDEh4Bl-mvzp7RsEi8I9RRmTh6P4gAbO4YQahNyIYp4JW_zFlIV4J_vZ4wRE-dHGzgIw1AAtgtf1TCIhLI5HCu/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZUjNa6cve5_COxhXXcqzAa7cbElUwsSmIxKCmk6J-oUm5_B6qH3ip1bcILNhnIVF-wcirujo=>