Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace
I guess this means it's open again.
NYT (“Trump Renames Institute of Peace for Himself“):
A dormant government building in the nation’s capital may seem like an unlikely setting for the signing of a peace deal. But nearly nine months after the Trump administration seized control of the U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters in an extraordinary public showdown and all but shuttered it, the center has re-emerged, newly named for President Trump.
The morning before Mr. Trump was scheduled to host a signing ceremony at the institute with the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, workers arrived at the building on the National Mall to install Mr. Trump’s name in large, silver letters to two sides of the exterior of the building, positioning his name to the left of where the institute’s name was already engraved into the facade.
The result was a re-dubbing of the building as the “Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace.”
The White House confirmed on Wednesday evening that the institute had been renamed for the president “as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Anna Kelly, a spokeswoman, said.
“Congratulations, world!” she added.
Renaming the decades-old institute, which had been heralded by presidents like Ronald Reagan, who signed it into law, and adhering his name to its facade appears to be a continuation of Mr. Trump’s effort to portray himself as a great diplomatic deal-maker as he campaigns for a Nobel Peace Prize.
[…]
The headquarters has sat vacant since the administration seized control of the building in March as part of a broader effort by the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly led by Elon Musk, to dismantle institutions that work on foreign policy. In the weeks after the building was seized, the administration fired most of the staff and gutted the organization. It even dismantled a fixture inside with the institute’s name and logo, a depiction of a dove and an olive branch.
George Foote, a former lawyer for the institute who is now part of the lawsuit against the administration, said in a statement on Wednesday that “renaming the U.S.I.P. building adds insult to injury.”
The 150,000 square-foot building is a central part of the lawsuit. The institute was created by Congress and received federal money for its programs, but former staff have argued that it is not part of the executive branch and therefore not subject to the president’s authority.
Aside from issues of propriety, my initial instinct was that this must be illegal. I had been under the impression that federal buildings couldn’t be named for current officials. But, as best I can tell, that’s not the case.
40 U.S. Code § 3102 – Naming or designating buildings
The Administrator of General Services may name or otherwise designate any building under the custody and control of the General Services Administration, regardless of whether it was previously named by statute.
A revision in 1958 removed the “requirement of approval by Bureau of the Budget for change or rechange of name or designation.”
Trump now has to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, since the entire Institute for Peace was named for him. Right?
So we now have the Epstein Institute for Peace to go along with the Epstein East Wing Ballroom & Casino. Malignant Narcissism, anyone?
The Nobel Committee should strike a deal with him – he gets the Nobel Peace Prize, posthumously.
His people don’t see how pathetic and preposterous this looks.
@Charley in Cleveland:
Don’t forget the Department of War Crimes.
Gotta say “Congratulations, world!” made me laugh out loud. Best guffaw in days and I owe it to Anna Kelly.
@Tony W:
I’d accept the Nobel Committee giving him the Prize if he accepts his prison sentence.
The David Duke Institute of Tolerance.
I propose a compromise: The Nobel Foundation agrees not to give him any Prize ever, but will henceforth only consider candidates from countries that name every open sewer and dumpster fire after El Taco.
I’m picturing “/s” in large silver characters (matching his name) placed after the engraved word “PEACE.”
My favorite parts of this is they’re doing it for Rwanda and the DRC signing a peace treaty. This is one of the 187 wars Trump is claiming to have *already ended*. They signed a peace deal months ago, never stuck to it and now they’re signing a second deal that they will never stick to.
The countries of the world have figured out that they can sign a peace deal and then completely ignore it. As long as the deal is signed, the US will get off their back about, you know, actually having peace.
This belongs in the “Meanwhile in North Korea” set.
@Steven L. Taylor: Indeed.
I have to say, Anna Kelly is right. Donald Trump is definitely “a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,”. Just not the way she thinks.
@Hal 10000: It’s the second Rwanda/DRC war he has stopped in his administration. He’s getting good at this!
The building will be suitable to house meetings of the Donald J Trump Gaza Board of Peace and the Donald J Trump Ukraine Board of Peace, together with their respective secretariats. Please make sure Tony Blair gets an office with a nice view.
It would be hilarious if right before El Taco improves the world by leaving it, some prankster were to tell him, “Did you hear Obama won a second Nobel Peace Prize?”
Depending on how he sells out Ukraine, I’d award him the Nobel Appeasement Prize.