SAN FRANCISCO — George Foote, who served as outside general counsel for the U.S. Institute of Peace, likened Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to “the brass knuckles on an authoritarian fist” while recalling the group’s attempted takeover of USIP this spring at a WIRED live event here, Dec. 4. The comments reignited criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency months after a federal judge declared the USIP seizure unlawful and “null and void,” Dec. 22, 2025.
At WIRED’s Big Interview event, Foote said operatives from the Department of Government Efficiency arrived at the institute’s Washington headquarters “like a strike team,” but then appeared unsure what to do next. He said they left behind what he described as a “half-pound of weed” — a panelist suggested it was likely far less — and ultimately had “no idea what to do with the place.”
Foote shared the stage with former Social Security Administration commissioner Leland Dudek and former DOGE engineer Sahil Lavingia, with the panel focused on the costs of moving quickly inside government and the limits of disruption when laws and charters set boundaries.
Department of Government Efficiency faces legal blowback in the USIP fight
In a May 19 opinion, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that President Donald Trump’s attempt to dismantle USIP exceeded his constitutional authority and violated the law that created the congressionally chartered organization, describing the episode as a “gross usurpation of power,” according to ABC News’ report on the decision.
In a separate summary of the decision, WIRED reported that Howell ordered the prior board and leadership reinstated and barred DOGE-linked entities from maintaining or regaining access to USIP’s offices, computer systems and records. The ruling also addressed the institute’s headquarters — a building valued at about $500 million — after efforts to transfer the property to the General Services Administration.
By May 21, USIP leaders said they had regained control of the headquarters building, while the Justice Department signaled it would appeal, CBS News reported.
The events followed a tense March standoff. The Washington Post reported that DOGE entered the building with law enforcement support after threats of criminal prosecution, removing USIP President George Moose and installing new leadership. A court filing cited by Business Insider said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a resolution naming 28-year-old tech entrepreneur Nate Cavanaugh as acting president and directing the transfer of USIP assets to the General Services Administration as the Department of Government Efficiency moved to shrink the institute.
USIP was not the only target to draw judicial scrutiny. In a separate case involving foreign aid, a federal judge said the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution, The Associated Press reported.
Foote told the WIRED audience the takeaway is broader than one institute: “The rule of law doesn’t matter if the people don’t stand up to defend it,” he said.
