Trump to convene first Board of Peace meeting in Washington on Feb. 19

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President Donald Trump plans to convene the first meeting of his “Board of Peace” in Washington on Feb. 19, the Associated Press reported, citing two Trump administration officials. The officials said the proposed gathering would focus on raising funds for the reconstruction of Gaza and would bring together a mix of international leaders and Gaza-focused leadership.

The meeting, the officials said Saturday, was proposed for Feb. 19 and would include both world leaders who accepted Trump’s invitation in January to join the board and members of an executive committee for Gaza. The officials added that the Gaza executive committee would oversee “the specifics of the territory’s governance, security and redevelopment.”

The administration officials who discussed the plans with AP spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting had not yet been formally announced and details of the agenda were still being determined. One official said the administration expected “robust” participation, though it was not immediately clear how many leaders would ultimately accept Trump’s invitation.

The Associated Press reported that a copy of the invitation letter sent late Friday to invited participants said the meeting would be held at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The letter noted the institute is now known as the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, and said the location would be used “pending an ongoing legal battle” with the former leadership of the nonprofit think tank.

AP also reported that the Trump administration seized the institute last year and fired almost all of the institute’s staff. The board itself was first introduced as a mechanism aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, but the AP report said its shape has expanded to cover a far broader mandate.

That broader mandate, AP said, aligns with Trump’s ambition to resolve global crises and to “sidestep the United Nations” as he seeks to reset the post-World War II international order. The AP report said many of Trump’s allies in Europe and elsewhere have declined to join the board, which they suspect is intended to rival the U.N. Security Council.

MSI previously reported on Trump’s launch of the Board of Peace at Davos as key allies declined to join in that earlier coverage. In the AP account of the February meeting plans, the administration’s efforts now focus on the proposed Feb. 19 gathering in Washington and the structure that would accompany it, including the role envisioned for a Gaza executive committee.