By Nate Raymond
BOSTON, June 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration does not need to reinstall dozens of exhibits that it removed from national parks on topics such as slavery and climate change before the nation's 250th anniversary next month, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
A unanimous three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily paused a judge's July 3 deadline for the National Park Service to reinstall the exhibits removed under a Trump
directive targeting displays that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living."
Boston-based U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley concluded that the displays were removed as part of the administration's unlawful effort to "rewrite the nation's history with a white-out pen." Critics have accused Trump of trying to erase aspects of American history to fit what they call his own false narratives about the nation.
The 1st Circuit declined for now to pause Kelley's main decision to halt Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's implementation of Trump's March 2025 executive order. But the 1st Circuit panel, composed of three judges appointed by Democratic presidents, said it is still considering whether the administration's request put Kelley's entire June 12 ruling on hold while it appeals and plans to rule "promptly."
Kelley acted in a lawsuit by plaintiffs including the National Parks Conservation Association and the American Association for State and Local History challenging the legality of the exhibit removals. In a joint statement, they called the 1st Circuit's decision to lift the deadline disappointing.
"The administration's decision not to reinstall and reinstate censored materials, particularly in advance of our nation's upcoming 250th anniversary, is a disservice to every park visitor this summer and to the broader American public," they said.
The U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's executive order took aim at what he called a "revisionist movement" that portrayed the United States as "inherently racist, sexist, oppressive or otherwise irredeemably flawed," and directed changes be made to parks nationwide.
At least 51 exhibits from 37 sites were subsequently removed or discarded in keeping with Trump's directive. One of these was an exhibit at the former U.S. presidential mansion in Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park describing the ownership of enslaved people by George Washington, the first U.S. president.
Kelley, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, ordered the signs and exhibits restored "by the 250th anniversary to properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States." The anniversary is on July 4.
The U.S. Justice Department quickly appealed, calling Kelley's ruling judicial overreach. It had said complying with Kelley's July 3 deadline to reinstall everything would be a "herculean and unmanageable task."
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)
