Appeals court orders Trump administration to 'preserve status quo' at President's House slavery exhibit
An appeals court judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to "preserve the status quo" at the slavery exhibit at the President's House in Philadelphia amid a pending lawsuit filed by the city of Philadelphia challenging the National Park Service's removal of dozens of panels at the memorial.
The panels, which were removed by the NPS in January were largely restored on Feb. 19 after a federal judge granted the city of Philadelphia's request for a preliminary injunction.
The Thursday ruling, which was written by Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, prevents the government from removing the panels again while the case moves forward. It also prevents the federal government from making any changes to the panels "without mutual agreement of the City of Philadelphia" as the lawsuit moves forward.
"Defendants are hereby ENJOINED from taking any action to damage any exhibits, panels, artwork, or other items from the President's House Site, are ORDERED to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety, security, and preservation of any such items that had been removed from the President's House Site on January 22, 2026," the judge wrote.
Judge Cynthia Ruffe in February granted the city's request for a preliminary injunction that required the Interior Department, which oversees the NPS, to restore the exhibit panels, some of which told the stories of the nine enslaved Africans who were held at the site by President George Washington.
The appeals court ruled on Thursday that NPS does not have to restore the exhibit to its original state prior to the removal of the panels in January.
But the court ordered NPS to "preserve" all President's House materials, including those that were restored in February, and blocked the NPS "from making any and all further changes to the President's House Site, including the installation of replacement materials, without mutual agreement of the City of Philadelphia" amid pending litigation.
NPS published on its website on Tuesday suggested changes and revisions to the panels, which drew sharp criticism from "Avenging the Ancestors" Coalition -- an advocacy group that fought for decades for the exhibit to be created -- and filed an amicus brief in this case supporting the city of Philadelphia.
ABC News reached out to the city of Philadelphia and NPS for comment.
In January, after the panels were first removed, a spokesperson for the Interior Department told ABC News that the removal of the exhibit complies with President Donald Trump's March 27, 2025 executive order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which directed the Interior Department to remove "divisive, race-centered ideology" and narratives from federal cultural institutions.
