PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday, July 3, 2026, that the Trump administration may reinstall revised interpretive panels at the site of President George Washington's home in Philadelphia, reversing a lower court's attempt to block the change. This ruling permits the implementation of a previous decision made last month by the appellate court.

The previous ruling determined that a lower court had incorrectly ordered the federal government to remove the new panels. The government formally requested permission on Thursday to reinstall the panels, stating they should go up "without further delay." Approximately half of the new panels were reinstalled earlier in 2026 before a court ordered a halt to the work.

The new educational panels replace those installed in 2010 at the site where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. The 2010 panels described how nine enslaved people lived in the home with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia served as the nation's capital. The removal of the 2010 panels followed a 2025 executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

The 2025 executive order mandates that federally owned or controlled historic sites avoid displaying information that would "disparage Americans past or living." It also directs these sites to prioritize the "greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people." In court filings, the Trump administration stated that the new panels discuss slavery. Images on a government website indicate these new panels include information on enslaved people who lived in the home, the abolitionist movement, how the Constitution addressed slavery, and the end of slavery in Pennsylvania. The images also show information about George Washington and John Adams's views on slavery and the 20th-century Civil Rights movement.

The replacement panels do not feature a map of slave trade routes, a timeline on slavery, or the headline 'The Dirty Business of Slavery.' The city of Philadelphia sued over the removal of the previous interpretive panels and asked the appeals court on Friday to recall its order. Philadelphia stated in its filing that it would be negatively affected if the new panels were reinstalled.

The Friday ruling was issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel included one judge nominated by President Trump, one nominated by former President George W. Bush, and one nominated by former President Barack Obama.