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A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily halted next week’s deadline for the Trump administration to restore dozens of displays removed from national parks over the past year in a crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change material.
The three-judge panel for the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed to pause part of a lower court order that required all displays to be reinstalled by July 3, in time for the nation’s 250th birthday.
The court, however, left in place District Judge Angel Kelley’s underlying ruling that barred the Interior Department from implementing President Trump’s executive order aimed at purging content that “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology” from all public monuments and similar property.
“We intend to rule on the request for a stay pending appeal promptly,” the court wrote.
The panel included Chief Judge David Barron, an Obama appointee, and Judges Gustavo Gelpí and Julie Rinkelman, both of whom were appointed by former President Joe Biden.
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
A group of park advocacy organizations sued in February seeking to block what they described as an effort by the Trump administration to “erase history and undermine science” at national parks across the country.
“We are pleased that the court of appeals left in place the district court’s order staying Secretary Burgum’s illegal order censoring history and science in our national parks,” the coalition said in a joint statement. “At the same time, we are disappointed that the court’s temporary order delays reinstallation of censored information that has been unlawfully removed.”
“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 added.
More than 50 items were removed from various National Park Service sites under Trump’s March 2025 directive, ranging from slavery exhibits at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park to reusable water bottle signs at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in South Carolina, according to a Justice Department filing.
Kelley ruled earlier in June that the federal government set a “dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization” when it scrapped those displays and ordered that they be restored by July 4.
“Because Defendants deemed it important to strip the parks of these undeniable truths in anticipation of the 250th Anniversary of our great Nation, it is equally important that our shared history be honestly told and fully restored by the 250th Anniversary to properly honor the remarkable achievements of the United States,” Kelley wrote.
The Trump administration appealed, arguing that it was “essentially impossible” to comply with Kelley’s timeline, while also saying she overstepped her authority.
The appeals court is still weighing that motion.
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