Trump administration doesn't need to restore more President's House exhibits for now, appeals court says [View all]

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Updated Feb. 20, 2026, 5:24 p.m. ET | Published Feb. 20, 2026, 10:55 a.m. ET


President Donald Trump’s administration won its first court victory in the President’s House case Friday afternoon, when a federal appeals judge paused the injunction ordering the restoration of the slavery exhibits to the site. Third Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee, overruled a district judge’s order just an hour before the government’s deadline to comply with the injunction.

The National Park Service does not need to restore the exhibits for the duration of the appeal, the order said, but is enjoined from damaging the exhibits and required to take “all necessary steps” to ensure they are not harmed. The order further prohibits the federal government from making any other changes to the site, including setting up replacement exhibits, which the Department of Interior said would have been installed “in the coming days” if not for the injunction.

“[The Department of Interior and National Park Service] are to preserve the status quo as to the President’s House as of the entry of this order,” Hardiman wrote. The order is not accompanied by an opinion or memorandum explaining which of the government’s arguments Hardiman found compelling.

Hardiman’s ruling landed an hour before the deadline District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe set for the administration to restore the site to its condition before the Jan. 22 abrupt removal of the exhibits. Park Service staff bbegan reinstalling exhibits Thursday, placing back 16 out of 34 exhibits as of that evening.

Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/presidents-house-injunction-stay-slavery-exhibits-20260220.html

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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca3.127203/gov.uscourts.ca3.127203.11.0_2.pdf


Most of it should have been restored by now (at least 1/2 of the panels were back up at the end of yesterday and this order didn't come out until just before the deadline today). At least the appellate judge decision indicated "no replacement" stuff either (which DOI lied about, claiming they were planning for something else).

And if the weather forecasts hold for the late weekend and early next week, it's about to be reburied again.

REFERENCE (includes earlier references) - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143618692