Trump signed EO 14217, directing elimination of Inter-American Foundation, USADF, USIP, and Presidio Trust

On February 19, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14217, "Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy," directing four congressionally-created entities — the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), and Presidio Trust — to eliminate all non-statutory functions and reduce staff to the legal minimum. The order gave each entity 14 days to submit a compliance report to the Office of Management and Budget.

Congress created each of the four entities through separate legislation spanning decades: the IAF in 1969 and USADF in 1980 to advance development in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa; the USIP in 1984 for conflict resolution and peace education; and the Presidio Trust in 1996 to manage the historic Presidio of San Francisco. Their governing statutes vest leadership in presidentially-appointed boards and do not authorize closure by executive order.

The EO also abolished the Presidential Management Fellows Program — a competitive federal career pipeline — and terminated six federal advisory committees. All four targeted entities subsequently took emergency legal action to resist the forced closures, and on May 19, 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the DOGE-directed closure of USIP was unlawful — a "gross usurpation of power" that violated the statute Congress used to create it.