The dispute between unelected bureaucrats and federal law enforcement over access to the US Institute for Peace’s $500 million DC office was highlighted by Elon Musk. Musk also noted that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) found substantial fraud at the controversial institute, including payments to Iran and the Taliban.
DOGE charged USIP with an aggressive takeover by sacking over 300 employees and threatening to move its $500 million headquarters to the GSA. Despite former USIP officials suing DOGE, a federal judge upheld the takeover.
An account started the engagement on March 30, 2025, with a USIP drama synopsis. DOGE: The DOGE crew fought for days to enter the US Institute of Peace. DOGE gained access to the agency with FBI and Metro Police assistance and found huge fraud, waste, and abuse, including payments to Taliban and Iraq.
Elon Musk responded to the post with more context. He stated, “Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name.” The CEO of a software company stated, “They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but we recovered it 🙄.”
Conservatives praised Elon and defended DOGE in his response. One comment said, “Elon, I know there’s a lot hurting your Tesla brand, but know this you’re doing a very noble thing with Doge. Most people like what you and your team do.”
Based on that, some users agreed with Musk that fraudsters typically adopt innocent names to disguise their crimes. One response said, “Just like the Inflation Reducation Act didn’t reduce inflation. Or how reproductive freedom ends reproduction. All camouflage.” Another added, “Affordable Care Act” is like any government regulation, bill, etc. This happens always. Government just creates jobs. All this legislation is for spending money. That’s why nothing happens. Nothing ought should. Spending the money is a “success.”
Other users suspected authorities were trying to avoid DOGE. Several replies read, “When government hides expenses like this, they know they are doing something wrong. Such waste of taxpayer money angers 90% of taxpayers. Out of control. Will media cover this for the public? No way.
