Trump admin appeals after judge orders slavery exhibit returned to Philadelphia museum

President Donald Trump's Department of the Interior and its secretary, Doug Burgum, have appealed after Judge Cynthia Rufe invoked George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" to order the return of a slavery exhibit to the museum on the site of former President George Washington's home in Philadelphia.

"As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's 1984 now existed, with its motto 'Ignorance is Strength,' this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not," Rufe wrote in a Monday ruling.

The judge entered a preliminary injunction "to restore the President's House exhibit as it existed on January 21, 2026."

But on Tuesday, the Trump administration filed notice that it intended to appeal the ruling.

"Defendants hereby appeal this Court's February 16, 2026, memorandum opinion (ECF No. 53) and order (ECF No. 54) to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit," the motion said.

The notice of appeal was signed by Gregory B. David of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.