PHILADELPHIA \u2014 A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to restore the slavery exhibits that the National Park Service removed from the President\u2019s House last month.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe issued a ruling Monday requiring the federal government to \u201crestore the President\u2019s House Site to its physical status as of January 21, 2026,\u201d which is the day before the exhibits were removed.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Philadelphia home during his presidency and were abruptly removed in January.<\/p>\n
Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee, compares the federal government\u2019s argument that it can unilaterally control the exhibits in national parks to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell\u2019s \u201c1984,\u201d a novel about a dystopian totalitarian regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell\u2019s 1984 now existed… this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims \u2014 to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. \u201cIt does not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker\u2019s 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 \u201carbitrary and capricious\u201d act that violated a 2006 cooperative agreement between the city and the federal government.<\/p>\n
The federal government has the option to appeal the judge\u2019s order. The Interior Department, National Park Service and U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office did not immediately comment on the ruling, which fell on Presidents\u2019 Day, a federal holiday.<\/p>\n
During a hearing last month, Rufe called the federal government\u2019s argument that a president could unilaterally change the exhibits displayed in national parks \u201chorrifying\u201d and \u201cdangerous.\u201d She ordered the federal government to ensure the panels\u2019 safe keeping after an inspection and a visit to the President\u2019s House earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s ruling follows an updated injunction request from the city that asked for the full restoration of the site \u2014 not merely that the exhibits be maintained safely \u2014 and a brief from the federal government arguing that the National Park Service has discretion over the exhibits and that the city\u2019s lawsuit should be dismissed on procedural grounds.<\/p>\n
The federal government\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
But the judge found the city met its burden.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the President\u2019s House is left dismembered throughout this dispute, so too is the history it recounts, and the City\u2019s relationship to that history,\u201d Rufe wrote.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t let the case drag into the summer, recognizing the 250th anniversary celebration being planned for Independence Mall.<\/p>\n
The timing of the ruling underscored its significance to the Philadelphians pushing for the exhibits\u2019 return.<\/p>\n
Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, the main advocacy organization that is leading the fight to protect the President\u2019s House, was a little less than an hour into its Presidents\u2019 Day event at the site \u2014 where they condemned the Trump administration\u2019s dismantling of the exhibit \u2014 when leaders got wind of their victory.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s leaders, both utterly excited and completely in shock, congregated behind the site\u2019s Memorial Wall to soak in the weight of the news before announcing it to the public.<\/p>\n
Moments later, Michael Coard, an attorney and ATAC\u2019s leader, emerged before the crowd of about 100 people gathered at the President\u2019s House and told them: \u201cThanks to you all, your presence and your activism, I have great news: we just won in federal court.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowd erupted in cheers and chants of \u201cWhen we fight, we win!\u201d and \u201cWe have won!\u201d<\/p>\n
Coard told reporters shortly after his announcement that there\u2019s \u201cno other blessing that we could have gotten today. Beyond this, it\u2019s the ultimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
ATAC has led dozens of rallies and town halls meant to energize the public in opposing the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing scrutiny of the President\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Dana Carter, head organizer of ATAC, said she was in disbelief when she first heard about the ruling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a mistake because how appropriate would it be for us to get that particular information right while we\u2019re doing this rally?\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 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\u2019s House,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n
But the fight is not over, advocates said, with Coard expecting the Trump administration to appeal or ignore any future rulings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a lawless administration. The people are going to have to take over to force them to do the right thing,\u201d Coard said. \u201cThe laws mean nothing to the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trump administration\u2019s attempts to alter the President\u2019s House is not an isolated event, but rather it\u2019s part of a nationwide initiative to remove content from national parks that \u201cinappropriately disparage Americans past or living,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Attendees at Monday\u2019s event were invigorated by the ruling.<\/p>\n
Mijuel Johnson, a tour guide leader with the Black Journey who led Rufe through the site earlier this month, said he\u2019s \u201cenjoying the moment for now\u201d but then it\u2019s back to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that this is a great win for this movement,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to restore the slavery exhibits that the National…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":596204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,28909,1448,2830,1311,38517,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-596203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-inquirer","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-staff-photographer","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116085719874660309","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}