A statue of Confederate General Albert Pike that was toppled in 2020 will be restored and reinstalled this fall, following President Donald Trump’s pushback against recent efforts to reframe America’s historical narrative.
The National Park Service announced the move on Monday, stating that the restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as executive orders aimed at beautifying the nation’s capital and reinstating pre-existing statues. The statue’s removal in 2020 was part of mass protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Pike, a Confederate brigadier general and respected figure among Freemasons, had been a source of controversy since its installation in Judiciary Square. The statue’s restoration is seen as a move by Trump to push back against efforts to reinterpret American history and reframe Confederate symbols.
However, some critics argue that the decision to restore the statue undermines efforts to address systemic racism and inequality in the US. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has called for the statue’s permanent removal and placement in a museum, citing the need to acknowledge the harm caused by Confederate symbols.
The National Park Service stated that the restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders. The move is seen as a test of Trump’s commitment to his “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order, which targeted the Smithsonian network of museums for what it described as a divisive, race-centered ideology.
The decision has sparked controversy among historians and cultural experts, who argue that Confederate statues should be removed from public spaces and placed in museums where they can be studied and understood within their historical context.
Source: https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2025/08/05/toppled-confederate-statue-in-dc-to-be-replaced-in-line-with-trumps-executive-order