A federal judge directed the Trump administration to restore the slavery exhibit at the President’s House by 5 p.m. Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe entered the new order Wednesday afternoon, two days after granting City Hall’s request for a preliminary injunction. The original ruling did not include a deadline or timeframe for the panels to be reinstalled.
The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior, defendants in the lawsuit brought by Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
On Tuesday, attorneys representing the federal government filed an appeal of Rufe’s initial order in the Philadelphia-based United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, according to court documents.
NPS staff removed 34 interpretive panels Jan. 22 from the President’s House site, located at the entrance to the Liberty Bell Center at 6th and Market streets. Since then, the materials have been stored in a federally-controlled building on the grounds of the National Constitution Center, officials have testified.
The President’s House features brick walls outlining the footprint of the long-demolished executive mansion, home to George Washington and John Adam during their presidencies from 1790 to 1800.
The exhibit that was removed examines the contradiction of slavery and freedom in early America, with a particular emphasis on the stories of the nine individuals Washington enslaved at the property.
Rufe, in a 40-page opinion, found that the abrupt decision to tear down the panels violated several agreements between the city and federal governments, including a 1950 pact establishing Independence National Historical Park.
The removal, which has drawn strong opposition from local elected officials and community leaders, was in response to President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order directing the elimination of “descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)" from all national parks.
