An agency targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency has received a new director to realign its mission.
The United Institute of Peace board of directors named MAGA media figure Darren Beattie as acting president.
Beattie is the founder of the media outlet Revolver News.
“As President Trump continues to implement his bold America First vision, I am deeply humbled by the trust placed in me with today’s appointment as President of the U.S. institute of Peace,” Beattie said in a statement. “This is a profound opportunity to articulate and advance American interests–as well as to help realign this institute to its fullest potential.”
The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institute established and funded by Congress in 1984. It was created to provide research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peace-building measures, but the Trump State Department believes it has slipped in its mission over recent decades.
Early in his second administration, Trump has sought to reform the agency. That involved replacing the president of the institute with a Department of Government Efficiency employee, terminating most of the agency’s staff, and transferring ownership of the institute’s property to the General Services Administration.
On Feb. 19, Trump signed an executive order demanding the dramatic downsizing of numerous federally-funded organizations, explicitly requiring the United Institute of Peace to reduce its operations and personnel to the minimum levels required by law.