Philadelphia Sues Trump Administration Over Removal of Slavery Exhibit at Historic Site
The city of Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit on January 23, 2026, against the Trump administration following the National Park Service's removal of a slavery memorial at the President's House site in Philadelphia. The legal action specifically targets the National Park Service (NPS) and the U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees the NPS, according to ABCNEWS. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also names Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and NPS Acting Director Jessica Bowron as defendants in the case.
At the center of this dispute is an exhibit that acknowledged and commemorated the nine enslaved individuals who lived at the President's House during George Washington's administration. Among them was Oney Judge, who PBS reports famously escaped bondage and remained free despite Washington's attempts to recapture her. The memorial panels, which displayed the names of these enslaved people and told their stories, were removed without prior notification to city officials, an action Philadelphia claims violated a 2006 agreement between the federal government and the municipality.
"Let me affirm for the residents of the city of Philadelphia that there is a cooperative agreement between the city and the federal government that dates back to 2006. That agreement requires parties to meet and confer if there are to be any changes made to an exhibit," Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker stated during a press conference on January 24, as reported by ABCNEWS. The city's legal filing argues that this agreement gave Philadelphia an "equal right" to "approve the final design" of the President's House Project, which by extension should include authority to review and approve any modifications to the display.
The NPS's decision to remove the panels aligns with President Donald Trump's March 27, 2025, executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." This directive instructed the Interior Department to eliminate what it termed "divisive, race-centered ideology" and narratives from federal cultural institutions, ABCNEWS reports. The order, signed last March, accused the previous administration of promoting what it called a "corrosive ideology" at the nation's historic sites, according to PBS.
Philadelphia's lawsuit contends that by removing the memorial panels without notice, federal authorities violated the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, which mandates that federal agencies publish proposals and provide opportunities for public comment regarding agency actions. Through this legal challenge, city officials are seeking a court order to restore the slavery memorial, a preliminary injunction to block other potential alterations to the President's House, and a permanent injunction preventing further modifications to the exhibit, as ABCNEWS reports.
The controversy has sparked significant reaction from preservation advocates. Ed Stierli, senior mid-Atlantic regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association, criticized the federal government's action, stating: "It reverses years of collaborative work by the National Park Service, City of Philadelphia, and community members, and sets a dangerous precedent of prioritizing nostalgia over the truth," according to PBS. This sentiment underscores concerns about historical accuracy and representation at federally managed heritage sites.
Timothy Welbeck, director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple University, offered a particularly pointed assessment of the situation. "It shows that the United States is still unwilling to reckon with the horrors of its past and would rather prefer to sanitize the history that it has and try to present a convenient lie," Welbeck told PBS. His comment reflects broader concerns about how American institutions acknowledge difficult aspects of the nation's history.
The President's House exhibit, which opened to the public in 2010, was the product of extensive collaboration between federal agencies, municipal authorities, and community stakeholders. Philadelphia's legal filing emphasizes that slavery is central to the site's narrative and that the partnership agreement with the federal government grants the city equal input regarding any design modifications, PBS reports. The memorial specifically highlighted the presence of enslaved individuals at what was then the executive mansion during Washington's presidency.
A spokesperson for the Trump administration responded to the lawsuit with criticism of Philadelphia's actions, characterizing them as "frivolous lawsuits in the hopes of demeaning our brave Founding Fathers who set the brilliant road map for the greatest country in the world -- the United States of America," according to ABCNEWS. This statement reflects the administration's position that the changes align with its broader approach to historical interpretation at federal sites.
The dispute occurs against the backdrop of ongoing national conversations about how American history is presented at public monuments and historic sites. The President's House location in Philadelphia holds particular significance as it represents both the early seat of American executive power and a place where enslaved people lived and worked. The site thus embodies the fundamental contradiction of America's founding era: the simultaneous embrace of liberty for some and bondage for others.
As the legal process unfolds, the case raises significant questions about intergovernmental agreements, historical interpretation, and public memory. The outcome could establish precedents for how federal agencies manage historic sites and how local communities can influence the presentation of history at locations within their boundaries. For Philadelphia residents and visitors, the immediate impact is the absence of information about nine individuals whose lives and stories were previously acknowledged at this prominent historic location in the heart of the city.