Washington DC - President Donald Trump's administration appointed a former White House speechwriter, who was fired for attending white-supremacist gatherings, to lead the US Institute of Peace.

Former White House speechwriter Darren Beattie has been appointed as the acting president of the US Institute of Peace (USIP), a State Department representative confirmed in a statement to Politico on Friday.

"We look forward to seeing him advance President Trump's America First agenda in this new role," the statement read.

Beattie will be responsible for "public diplomacy outreach," including anti-terrorism and anti-extremism messaging.

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USIP is an independent and nonprofit organization that champions itself as a "premier peacebuilding organization" and is funded by government money assigned by Congress.

The administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tried to dismantle the organization earlier this year while under the leadership of tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Trump's attempted shutdown of USIP was blocked by a federal judge, but not before DOGE laid off most of its staff.

Beattie was fired from his position as a White House speechwriter by Trump during his first term in office after it came out that he had spoken at a conference attended by white nationalists.

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Earlier in 2024, Beattie drew condemnation after taking up a position in the State Department, when it emerged that he had posted on X: "Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work."

In a statement cited by Reuters in February, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Beattie "has no place in a role representing American values abroad."

According to the ADL, Beattie associated with "notorious racists, antisemites and white supremacists, and has continuously promoted an array of conspiracy theories, including those related to the Jan. 6 insurrection and the 'Great Replacement' theory."