President Donald Trump’s name is now officially linked to a prominent peace institution in Washington, D.C., following the renaming of a federal building.
On Wednesday, Dec. 3, the U.S. Department of State announced that the U.S. Institute of Peace in downtown Washington will now be known as the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.
“This morning, the State Department renamed the former Institute of Peace to reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history,” read a post shared by the State Department on X. “Welcome to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. The best is yet to come.”
The timing of the move coincides with Trump’s plan to host leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, Dec. 4, for the signing of an economic and peace agreement brokered by the United States earlier this year.
Visitors to the institute’s website are directed to check back for updates or watch a live feed of the upcoming signing ceremony. On the notice, however, the institution is still described as the “United States Institute of Peace.”
“Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
That characterization of Trump’s record is widely disputed, but he has repeatedly sought to associate his legacy with peace initiatives.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(720x419:722x421):format(webp)/Donald-J.-Trump-Institute-of-Peace-120325-2d1dc1c4e79046bb931a9baf99abf829.jpg)
After actively promoting his own candidacy for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for at least a year, Trump ultimately lost the award to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
The U.S. Institute of Peace has no formal connection to the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway. The institute is an independent, congressionally funded nonprofit focused on conflict prevention, mediation and post-conflict stabilization around the world.
The renaming also follows Trump’s February executive order seeking to dismantle the Institute of Peace altogether.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(810x239:812x241):format(webp)/Donald-Trump-120325-d78699d9368b4ef2914b795ac0cd2015.jpg)
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subsequently removed the institute’s president from its headquarters with assistance from the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and D.C. police. At the same time, DOGE dismissed nearly all of the institute’s staff, according to the Washington Post.
In May, a federal judge ruled that the takeover was unlawful, but that order has been stayed pending appeal, the Washington Post reported.
