Former USIP lawyer at DOGE: ‘Authoritarian grip’

George Foot still He has vivid memories of the day when agents of Elon Musk’s so-called Government Efficiency Administration arrived at the headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace. USIP’s outside general counsel, he has been part of efforts to prevent the US government from taking control of the organization. When DOGE agents arrived at USIP’s offices in the spring, they came like a “strike team,” Foote told an audience at a Big Interview event organized by WIRED on Thursday in San Francisco.

The DOGE team left behind “a half-pound of marijuana” — most likely, a half-ounce, as one committee member noted — and ultimately seemed to have “no idea what to do with the place,” Foote said. That was indicative of much of DOGE’s actions, which “arrived like an iron fist in a tyrannical grip,” Foote said. He added that he wasn’t sure what Musk wanted to do with DOGE, “but he took it to a devastating level.”

The Trump administration’s interest in the independent agency dates back to a February 19 executive order declaring the agency “non-essential” and calling for its abolition. In March, the administration fired USIP’s 10 voting board members, and according to court filings, they attempted to enter the headquarters but were turned away. In court documents, the agency’s lawyers detailed a series of attempts by DOGE to enter the $500 million building before its agents were finally successful. Ultimately, a judge ruled that DOGE and the US government had no right to control USIP and its headquarters.

However, this week Trump’s name was affixed to the headquarters of the US Institute of Peace ahead of the signing of the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the building. The signing “was done there because the president wants to assert control of the building,” said Vaught, who is currently representing USIP directors in a lawsuit challenging Trump’s right to remove them from their positions.

Foote was one of several people on a panel hosted by WIRED senior writer Vittoria Elliott, on the ramifications of DOGE’s go-fast ethos to break things. Foote was joined by former Social Security Administration Commissioner Leland Dodek and former DOGE engineer Sahil Lavingia, who announced during the panel that he was returning to government at the Internal Revenue Service.

As WIRED reported on Tuesday, many of the young technicians sent by DOGE to various U.S. agencies are still working with federal government agencies. Edward “Big Balls” Coristin, Akash Bobba, Ethan Shaotran, Marko Elez, and Gavin Kliger all appear to be affiliated with DOGE or the US government. DOGE “just turned a corner,” one IRS employee told WIRED.

As the effects of DOGE spread, Foote noted, it’s important for people to keep an eye on what’s happening. He is confident that USIP managers will win in court, even if the process is long. “The rule of law is irrelevant if people do not stand up to defend it,” he said.