June 18, 2026
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration Thursday in its fight to remove panels from the President's House at Independence National Historical Park detailing slavery.
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration does not have to reinstall the original slavery exhibits at the President's House.
Three judges vacated a previous injunction compelling the National Parks Service to restore the panels it stripped from the historic site in January. The panel of justices in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that the city had not demonstrated the concrete harm it suffered from the removal, and praised the federal government's proposed alternatives.
The case concerns a set of displays detailing George Washington's participation in the slave trade, and the nine enslaved people he brought with him to the nation's temporary capital in Philadelphia. The exhibit opened to the public in 2010. Without notifying the city, NPS took down these displays earlier this year, citing President Donald Trump's 2025 executive order directing agencies to review text at public parks and monuments for "divisive narratives." The city of Philadelphia sought to have them restored through a lawsuit filed hours after the removal and was granted the preliminary injunction in district court in February.
While the case has proceeded, the Trump administration shared the text and images it intended to install in the original exhibit's place online. Advocates and historians say these alternatives soften Washington's participation in the slave trade. But in the appeals court opinion issued Thursday, the judges deemed that these new panels were "full of historical context" and captured "momentous events" that occurred at the site.
"They acknowledge the evil of slavery, including its injustices and hypocrisies, and, by telling the story of the nine slaves that Washington kept in the President’s House, remind us of their essential humanity. And they recall the price our Nation paid 'to finish the work that the Founders had begun and end slavery in the United States once and for all,'" the panel wrote.
The judges also argued that city lawyers and the district court which ruled in their favor did not properly distinguish between the Independence National Historical Park and Independence Square. The latter is the block bounded by Walnut, 5th, Chestnut and 6th streets and is owned by the city. The wider park spans 55 acres and, apart from Independence Square, is owned by the federal government. The President's House is located outside the city-owned square.
"It transforms the City’s authority from a right to supervise and veto changes to the City’s own five-acre property into a right to supervise and veto changes to the entire 55-acre Park — including more than 40 historic structures on property owned by the United States," the panel wrote of this conflation.
While the appeals court agreed the city had standing to sue, it took issue with its arguments and the findings of the district court. The judges remanded the case back to the lower court with instructions to dismiss several of the city's claims due to lack of jurisdiction.
Avenging The Ancestors Coalition, which pushed for the development of the President's House site, said it was "disappointed" in the ruling in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. The group is currently evaluating its legal options.
"For decades, ATAC has worked to ensure that the stories of the enslaved African descendants who lived and labored at the President's House are not erased, overlooked or misrepresented," the coalition said. "That commitment remains unwavering. We believe that historical truth matters, and we will continue to advocate for the protection, preservation and accurate interpretation of this important chapter of American history."
This story has been updated with a statement from ATAC.
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