Elon Musk slammed the United States Institute for Peace by highlighting the fight between the unelected bureaucrats and federal law enforcement to secure access to their $500 million office in DC. Musk also drew attention to the massive fraud that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uncovered within the controversial institute, which included payments to Iran and the Taliban.
For context, DOGE slammed USIP with an aggressive takeover by firing over 300 staffers and announcing a plan to transfer the institute’s $500 million headquarters to the Government Services Administration (GSA). While former USIP officials have sued DOGE for their actions, a federal judge declined to block the takeover.
Starting the interaction, on March 30, 2025, an account posted a summary of the USIP drama. The post read, “DOGE: The DOGE team fought for days to gain access to the United States Institute of Peace. Eventually, with help from the FBI and Metro Police DOGE was able to access the agency and discovered massive fraud, waste and abuse-including payments to Taliban and Iraq.”
Replying to the post, Elon Musk added additional context to the situation. He said, “Any government institution is most likely to be the opposite of its name.” Following up, the tech CEO said, “They deleted a terabyte of financial data to cover their crimes, but they don’t understand technology, so we recovered it 
.”
In the comments of Elon’s response, conservatives flocked to congratulate him and defend DOGE. One of the comments read, “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 support you and really appreciate what you’re you and your team are doing.”
Building on that point, some users agreed with Musk that fraudsters often use an innocuous name to hide their misdeeds. One of the replies read, “Just like how the Inflation Reducation Act didn’t reduce inflation. Or how reproductive freedom is about ending reproduction. It’s all camouflage.” Another said, “Same with any government regulation, bill, etc. “Affordable Care Act”. It’s always like this. Government is just a jobs program. The point of all that legislation is just to spend the money. That’s why nothing gets done. Nothing is really supposed to. As long as the money is spent, it’s a “success.'”
Other users expressed their suspicion that bureaucrats were desperate to hide from DOGE. One of several replies read, “When you have govt hiding their expenses like this, they know they are doing something wrong. 90% of Taxpayers are livid with such use of our $$$. It’s out of control. Will media discuss this for the people…..heck no.”
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Rounding out the comments, a lengthy reply drew attention to the need for greater transparency. It read, “If the United States Institute of Peace is funding the Taliban and foreign leaders, then we need full transparency. $132K here, $1.3M there, how deep does this go? Deleting a terabyte of financial data isn’t just suspicious; it’s an admission of guilt.”
Continuing, the same comment asked several pertinent questions. It read, “If Musk’s team recovered it, then drop the files. Let the receipts speak. Government institutions playing both sides isn’t new, but covering it up? That’s the real scandal. Where’s the accountability? Who’s responsible? We deserve answers.”
Watch Elon battle the deep state: