The US state department on Wednesday announced that the building of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, DC, has been rebranded as the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace. This marks the first time the institute has been rededicated under a sitting president’s name. The announcement was made through an official post on X that read: “This morning, the State Department renamed the former Institute of Peace to reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history. Welcome to the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace. The best is yet to come.”US secretary of state Marco Rubio, backing the move, wrote on X: “President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace. It’s time our State Department display that.” The decision comes ahead of Thursday’s expected signing of a US-brokered peace agreement between the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to be hosted at the newly labelled building.The renamed sign was also installed outside the institute on Wednesday. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the decision, saying, “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. Congratulations, world!” The claim that Trump ended “eight wars” this year remains widely disputed, with several conflicts – including the Israel-Hamas war – still unresolved.The development has revived scrutiny of the administration’s earlier attempt to take control of USIP. The Trump administration had removed the institute’s board and staff and installed its own leadership before a federal judge ruled the move unlawful, calling it a “gross usurpation of power.” The institute, funded by the US Congress and designed to function independently of the executive branch, has been operating in a limited capacity since the ruling. It did not respond to requests for comment on the renaming.The peace agreement expected to be signed this week follows months of escalating violence in eastern Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized major cities earlier this year, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. A US-brokered deal was reached in June and is now set for formalisation as the administration turns the spotlight on what it describes as President Trump’s expanding diplomatic legacy.
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