It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. John Cole’s editorial cartoon, published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, speaks volumes about President Trump’s efforts to censor uncomfortable truths about the paradox of slavery and freedom at the President’s House.

In her order, District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe directed the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to restore the President’s House Site to its physical status on January 21, 2026.

The Defendants appealed Judge Rufe’s order. Restoration of the President’s House was paused by Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The federal government does not have to fully restore the President’s House Site for the duration of the appeal. Judge Hardiman ordered the federal government to preserve the slavery memorial’s physical status on February 20, 2026.

Congressman Brendan F. Boyle has introduced legislation to permanently restore the President’s House Site. The Protecting American History Act requires the National Park Service to restore the federal slavery memorial to its physical status on January 21, 2026.

Congressman Boyle said:

The Trump administration’s decision to remove slavery-related exhibits at Independence National Historical Park was wrong. We are the United States of America. We don’t censor our history, and I am not going to allow the Trump administration to start censoring our nation’s history. So federal legislation is clearly needed.

Rep. Boyle’s bill would prohibit any future changes of any kind at Independence National Historical Park, which includes the President’s House Site, without prior approval from Congress. Reps. Dwight Evans and Mary Gay Scanlon are lead co-sponsors of the legislation.