The U.S. Institute of Peace, a government-funded think tank, has terminated nearly all of its U.S.-based employees and is drawing up plans to fire its remaining overseas employees, escalating an ongoing legal battle over whether President Trump has the authority to dismantle organizations created and funded by Congress.

The firings come after a federal judge declined to block the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) group from taking control of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) earlier this month.

The termination notices, sent out starting around 9 p.m. on Friday to more than 200 USIP employees, are effective immediately, according to five USIP employees who received the letters. They all spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, because all had also been given a confidential severance offer of two to four weeks’ pay if they waived all rights to take legal action against the think tank.

Emphasis mine. Nothing good happens on Friday nights in Washington these days. They keep pulling this shit to avoid the news cycle.