Judge sets deadline for Trump administration to restore slavery displays at President’s House
A judge ruled that the Trump administration has until 5 p.m. Friday to restore slavery exhibits at the President’s House site in Philadelphia’s Independence Mall.
The exhibits tell the story of nine people enslaved by George Washington in his former home.
In her ruling Wednesday, U.S. Judge Cynthia M. Rufe said the Interior Department had failed to comply with its initial order to return the exhibit “immediately.”
On Monday, Rufe granted an injunction ordering the materials be restored while a lawsuit over the removal continues, and barring Trump officials from creating new interpretations of the site’s history.
Then, on Tuesday, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal to the Third U.S. Court of Appeals, also based in Philadelphia.
The Justice Department insists that the administration alone can decide what stories are told on National Park Service properties.
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Rufe, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, compared President Donald Trump’s administration to totalitarian rule in the dystopian novel “1984,” which revised historical records to align with his narrative.
“As if George Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims – to conceal and dismantle historical truths when it has some power over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. “That’s not the case.”
A person walks to photograph the location of now-removed explanatory signs that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President’s House site in Philadelphia, January 30, 2026. AP Photo/Matt Rourke
Last month, park service workers abruptly removed the exhibits from the Philadelphia site, prompting the city and other exhibit supporters to sue.
The historic site is one of many where the administration has quietly removed content about the history of slaves, LGBTQ+ people and Native Americans.
Millions of people are expected to visit Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, this year on the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding in 1776.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
