Slavery exhibit removed by Trump administration is returning to Independence Mall in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An exhibit detailing the lives of nine people enslaved by President George Washington in Philadelphia is being reinstalled on Thursday, despite an ongoing legal fight between the city and the Trump administration.

The stories and images that had been on display for two decades were abruptly removed last month following an executive order by President Donald Trump. The city and supporters subsequently sued for the exhibit to be restored and a federal judge set a Friday deadline to achieve that.

Mayor Cherelle Parker visited Independence Mall — the site of the former President’s House — on Thursday morning.

“I want you to know I’m grateful,” Parker said as she introduced herself to several of the National Park Service workers lifting large panels back onto the display area. Parker is the first Black woman to be elected mayor in Philadelphia.

“It’s our honor,” one replied. The restoration work was expected to continue through Friday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, which is appealing Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe's ruling, declined to comment on the restoration work, a spokesperson said.

Trump’s order called for “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks. The administration argued that it alone can decide what stories are told at Park Service properties around the country.

“Although many people feel strongly about this (slavery exhibit) one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken argued during a Jan. 30 court hearing.

“Ultimately,” he said, “the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”

Rufe cut him off, calling the comments “dangerous” and “horrifying.”

As the fate of the exhibit played out in court, educators brought students to the site to reflect on the missing history and supporters of the exhibit posted messages such as “Washington owned slaves here" on the empty walls.

Independence Mall is one of several historical sites where the administration has quietly removed content about the history of enslaved people, the LGBTQ+ community and Native Americans, in what some call an erasure of the nation's history.

In a 40-page opinion issued on Presidents' Day, Rufe compared the Trump administration to the totalitarian regime in the dystopian novel “1984."

“If the President’s House is left dismembered throughout this dispute, so too is the history it recounts,” Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, wrote.

“Worse yet, the potential of having the exhibits replaced by an alternative script — a plausible assumption at this time — would be an even more permanent rejection of the site’s historical integrity, and irreparable,” she wrote.

Rufe granted an injunction ordering the restoration of the materials while the lawsuit proceeds and barring Trump officials from creating new interpretations of the site’s history.

A spokesperson said Tuesday that the Interior Department had planned an alternative display “providing a fuller account of the history of slavery at Independence Hall." On Wednesday, government lawyers asked that the restoration order be put on hold while their appeal plays out.

It is not yet clear how the decision to restore the exhibit would affect the court case.

"The lives of the nine enslaved African descendants held at the President’s House mattered,” said lawyer Michael Coard, who leads an advocacy group that joined the lawsuit. “Their stories — and the stories of all enslaved people — must be preserved and can never be erased.”

Millions of people are expected to visit Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, this year for the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding in 1776.

A person views panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia after they are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

A National Parks Service worker puts his hand on a panel that was part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia to be put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

Panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

A person takes a photo as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

National Parks Service workers talk as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

Panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe inspects the location of the now removed explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at President's House Site in Philadelphia, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People gather as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

National Parks Service workers gather as panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President's House Site in Philadelphia are put back Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association is pulling out of an annual meeting at the White House after President Donald Trump declined to invite two Democratic governors, undercutting one of Washington's few remaining bipartisan gatherings.

Trump is still expected to meet with governors at the White House on Friday but the event will not be facilitated by an organization founded more than a century ago to help state leaders from both parties advocate for their interests in Washington. The Republican president had refused to include Democratic Govs. Jared Polis of Colorado and Wes Moore of Maryland and recently blasted them on social media as "not worthy of being there.”

In a brief interview Thursday, Polis said he does not have “any ability to get in (Trump's) head.” Polis said he was nonetheless meeting with governors from both parties while he is in the nation's capital.

“I’ve spent quality time with my colleagues this morning and really learning from one another and taking best practices that Republican or Democratic governors have launched in their state,” he said. “It’s really what these meetings are about.”

The episode underscores the confrontational approach Trump has taken during his second term toward state leaders he does not like. He has at times threatened to withhold federal money or send in troops over the objections of local leaders. Now, even a ceremonial White House dinner has become a flashpoint and fellow Republicans openly acknowledge that Trump's aim as president is not to unify the country.

“He’s not putting his mind to it,” Gov. Spencer Cox, R-Utah, said at an event sponsored by Politico. “He’s said very clearly that that’s not who he is.”

In an interview Wednesday, Moore said he has “no desire to have beef with the president of the United States.”

“I didn’t run for governor like, man, I can’t wait so me and the president can go toe to toe,” said Moore, the NGA's vice chair. “But the fact that he is waking up in the middle of the night and tweeting about me, I just, I pray for him and I just feel bad for him because that has just got to be a really, really hard existence.”

The dynamics are a far cry from the air of bipartisanship that Moore and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who chairs the NGA, sought to portray as governors began to assemble in Washington. Moore and Stitt shared a stage several times this week swapping jokes and praise.

“I have gotten, through the National Governors Association, a really good chance to know the heart of this man and how much he is a great American, loves his country, loves his citizens and is just trying to do the best he can for Maryland,” Stitt said Thursday at the Politico event.

After Stitt tried to resolve the standoff between the White House and the Democratic governors last week, Trump blasted him as a “RINO,” short for Republican In Name Only, and accused him of misrepresenting his position. Stitt struck a conciliatory tone Thursday, noting he would participate in White House events.

“Politics has a way of just beating you down over time so I can’t imagine being president of the United States," Stitt said. "He’s got a tough job to do.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who occasionally disagreed with Trump, said it was a “mistake” for the White House not to include all governors.

“There never was a huge amount of real work that got accomplished but it was a nice thing annually to bring all the governors — Republicans and Democrats — together,” he said in an interview. “I know there’s a lot of friction but it just seems in everybody’s best interest even if you passionately disagree and you don’t like the other person or you’re mad about whatever, it can’t hurt to be in the same room together.”

Beyond the White House meeting, some governors also shared pointed criticisms of the administration's ever-expanding power. They bemoaned the unwillingness of the Republican-controlled Congress to limit Trump’s ambitions and they cast themselves as counterweights to the executive.

“Presidents aren’t supposed to do this stuff,” Cox said. “Congress needs to get their act together. And stop performing for TikTok and actually start doing stuff. That’s the flaw we’re dealing with right now.”

Cox added that “it is up to the states to hold the line.”

As governors cycled through panels and interviews, one question hovered: Who among them might seek the presidency in 2028?

Moore and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania were among the potential Democratic presidential contenders in Washington this week. Other Democrats, including Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois, were not in town.

Stitt and Moore, during a panel discussion, both declined to rule out a future bid and emphasized their focus on their home states.

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., took a more open approach. He arrived in Washington days after announcing he would release a book this fall and fielded questions at a Center for American Progress event about how he might campaign for president if he enters the race.

Asked afterward about his timeline for a decision, Beshear said his focus this year remains on Kentucky and “then after that, I’ll sit down with my family and we’ll consider it.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore laughs with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt at an event at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, center, fist bumps Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt at an event at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Politico Correspondent Adam Wren, Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., and Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., participate at an event at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at an event at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)