Key facts
- A federal appeals court has allowed the Trump administration to reinstall interpretive panels at the President's House site in Philadelphia.
- The panels were removed following a lower court ruling.
- The Trump administration's 2025 executive order called for historic sites to focus on American 'greatness' and avoid 'disparaging' information.
- The City of Philadelphia sued to prevent the reinstallation, arguing it would suppress a historically significant and long-suppressed story.
- The administration stated its information also discusses slavery.
A federal appeals court has granted the Trump administration permission to reinstall interpretive panels at the President's House site in Philadelphia, reversing a lower court's order for their removal. The decision allows the administration to proceed with its interpretation of the historical site, which has been a point of contention with the City of Philadelphia.
The dispute stems from a 2025 executive order by the Trump administration that mandates federal historic sites avoid information that could 'disparage Americans past or living' and instead focus on the 'greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.' Following this directive, new panels were installed at the President's House site, but a lower court ordered their removal.
However, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit of Appeals ruled that the lower court erred in forcing the government to take down the new panels. The administration requested and received approval to reinstall them without further delay, stating that the information also addresses the topic of slavery.
The City of Philadelphia, which had previously sued over the removal of earlier historical information, is attempting to block the new installation. The city asked the appeals court to recall its order, arguing that the reinstallation would be detrimental to the site's significance and the 'historically significant and long-suppressed story' developed through years of federal-local collaboration.