Judge ordering reinstatement of slavery exhibits invokes Orwell

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, ruled Monday that the Trump administration must restore slavery exhibits to the President’s House site in Philadelphia, finding the administration did not follow proper procedure to remove the exhibits at the historic site. Rufe also cited George Orwell’s 1984 to bash the administration’s decision to remove the exhibit from the historic site.

“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 said at the beginning of her opinion.

The decision to cite Orwell in a ruling on how the federal government may curate a museum or historical site under its control drew backlash from conservative legal analysts. Mike Fragoso, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, noted the “lack of self-awareness with these judges.”

Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan questioned the judge’s finding that “the City of Philadelphia can mandate what message the federal government highlights,” and noted that she relied on Orwell, a British author, for her order.

“What is the irreparable harm to removing some plaques, you may ask? Apparently ‘loss of historical truth’ and ‘undermining public trust.’ The judge must have been disheartened by the discredited 1619 project. (Hopefully that is not the object of the removed content.),” Wessan said, pointing to the controversial 1619 Project, which attempted to reframe the story of the founding of the U.S. around slavery rather than the Declaration of Independence.

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, called the ruling the latest shot in the “judicial insurrection” the Trump administration has faced and said Rufe is “suggesting she (and the Leftists running Philly) are the final arbiter of historical ‘truth,’ anti-Trump judge seizes control of what ‘history’ can be presented on federal property.”

Other judges have cited the Bible, George Washington, and Bob Dylan in rulings against Trump

Rufe’s ruling was the latest in a series of rulings against the Trump administration, which have included unusual citations.

At the end of last month, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ordered an illegal immigrant and his five-year-old son released from immigration custody. The brief order quoted Thomas Jefferson and ended with a picture of the five-year-old and two Bible verses, Matthew 19:14 and John 11:35. The order was also errantly dated Feb. 31, instead of Jan. 31.

In her order blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, quoted George Washington to open her lengthy order issued earlier this month.

“On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: ‘America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions.’ More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status program,” Reyes said in her ruling.

“It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take,” Reyes added, taking a dig at the administration.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, quoted musician Bob Dylan in denying War Secretary Pete Hegseth from demoting Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over a controversial video instructing service members to disobey “illegal orders.”

“This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob Dylan famously said, ‘You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,’” Leon said.

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In a post pushing back on comparisons between district court judges’ rulings and former Justice Antonin Scalia’s rulings, both of which include colorful quotations, Fragoso said that “Scalia wrote for the casebooks”, while “Judges today write for social media.”

As the Trump administration continues to face legal battles in district courts, judges are likely to include unique citations in their rulings, both in favor of and opposed to the administration’s actions before the court.