Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore slavery exhibits to the President's House

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore the slavery exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the President’s House last month.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe issued a ruling Monday requiring the federal government to “restore the President’s House Site to its physical status as of January 21, 2026,” which is the day before the exhibits were removed.

The order does not give the government a deadline for the restoration of the site. It does require that the National Park Service take steps to maintain the site and ensure the safety of the exhibits, which memorialize the enslaved people who lived in George Washington’s Philadelphia home during his presidency and were abruptly removed in January.

Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee, compares the federal government’s argument that it can unilaterally control the exhibits in national parks to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s "1984," a novel about a dystopian totalitarian regime.

“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed... this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts," Rufe wrote. “It does not.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration filed a federal lawsuit against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and acting National Park Service Director Jessica Bowron, and their respective agencies, on the day the exhibits were dismantled. The complaint argues that dismantling the exhibits was an “arbitrary and capricious” act that violated a 2006 cooperative agreement between the city and the federal government.

The federal government has the option to appeal the judge’s order. The Interior Department, National Park Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment on the ruling, which fell on Presidents’ Day, a federal holiday.

During a hearing last month, Rufe called the federal government’s argument that a president could unilaterally change the exhibits displayed in national parks “horrifying” and “dangerous.” She ordered the federal government to ensure the panels’ safe keeping after an inspection and a visit to the President’s House earlier this month.

Monday’s ruling follows an updated injunction request from the city that asked for the full restoration of the site — not merely that the exhibits be maintained safely — and a brief from the federal government arguing that the National Park Service has discretion over the exhibits and that the city’s lawsuit should be dismissed on procedural grounds.

The federal government’s brief also argued there could be no irreparable harm from the removal of the exhibits because they are documented online and replacement panels would cost $20,000.

But the judge found the city met its burden.

“If the President’s House is left dismembered throughout this dispute, so too is the history it recounts, and the City’s relationship to that history,” Rufe wrote.

The injunction itself does not resolve the underlying lawsuit, and is in effect for the duration of the litigation. In the January hearing, Rufe said she wouldn’t let the case drag into the summer, recognizing the 250th anniversary celebration being planned for Independence Mall.

The timing of the ruling underscored its significance to the Philadelphians pushing for the exhibits’ return.

Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, the main advocacy organization that is leading the fight to protect the President’s House, was a little less than an hour into its Presidents’ Day event at the site — where they condemned the Trump administration’s dismantling of the exhibit — when leaders got wind of their victory.

The group’s leaders, both utterly excited and completely in shock, congregated behind the site’s Memorial Wall to soak in the weight of the news before announcing it to the public.

Moments later, Michael Coard, an attorney and ATAC’s leader, emerged before the crowd of about 100 people gathered at the President’s House and told them: “Thanks to you all, your presence and your activism, I have great news: we just won in federal court.”

The crowd erupted in cheers and chants of “When we fight, we win!” and “We have won!”

Coard told reporters shortly after his announcement that there’s “no other blessing that we could have gotten today. Beyond this, it’s the ultimate.”

ATAC has led dozens of rallies and town halls meant to energize the public in opposing the Trump administration’s ongoing scrutiny of the President’s House, as ordered by the president and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The Black-led advocacy group helped develop the site in the early 2000s before it opened in 2010.

Dana Carter, head organizer of ATAC, said she was in disbelief when she first heard about the ruling.

“I thought it was a mistake because how appropriate would it be for us to get that particular information right while we’re doing this rally?” Carter said.

“After we figured out that it really was the truth, I am just moved. My heart is overflowing with love for the judge who made the ruling, as well as the people who have been with us since the beginning... and also the people who have joined us in this fight to restore the President’s House,” Carter said.

But the fight is not over, advocates said, with Coard expecting the Trump administration to appeal or ignore any future rulings.

“This is a lawless administration. The people are going to have to take over to force them to do the right thing,” Coard said. “The laws mean nothing to the Trump administration.”

The Trump administration’s attempts to alter the President’s House is not an isolated event, but rather it’s part of a nationwide initiative to remove content from national parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living,” under orders issued by Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last year. For instance, Park Service employees removed signage about the mistreatment of Native Americans from the Grand Canyon.

Attendees at Monday’s event were invigorated by the ruling.

Mijuel Johnson, a tour guide leader with the Black Journey who led Rufe through the site earlier this month, said he’s “enjoying the moment for now” but then it’s back to work.

“I think that this is a great win for this movement,” Johnson said.