Overview

• The USIP Board of Directors formally installed Darren Beattie as Acting President while he retains his role as Acting Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy at the State Department.
• Beattie was fired in 2018 from his position as a Trump speechwriter after revelations that he spoke at a white nationalist conference.
• His 2024 post asserting that “competent white men must be in charge” drew bipartisan condemnation for extremist rhetoric.
• In May a federal judge declared the administration’s attempt to oust USIP leaders illegal, labeling it a “gross usurpation of power” before an appeals court issued a stay.
• The appointment represents the administration’s continued push to steer independent institutions toward its America First foreign policy priorities.