A massive 21-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center – targeted in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 25 years ago – has made its way to the White House after a trip across the country.
The nearly 17,000-pound recovery from the South Tower in Lower Manhattan has journeyed across the US as part of the Tunnel to Towers Steel Across America tour, an effort to raise money for the nonprofit benefiting first responders and remember the nearly 3,000 Americans who perished in the tragedy.
A total of 343 firefighters were lost during the September 11 attacks; many still suffer from long-term health issues believed to be related to their exposure to harmful toxins at Ground Zero.
The monument comes just days ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. First responders and US service members lined the seats at the White House event.
This year Trump reportedly plans to deliver remarks at the Pentagon‘s 9/11 memorial, not the New York memorial as he and other presidents have done in the past.
Trump wanted to speak at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and even had his team make advance visits, the New York Times reported. But multiple sources said that the museum’s ultimate goal is to avoid any partisanship at the ceremonies, with politicians banned from speaking since 2012.
Vice President JD Vance will represent the Trump administration at the New York ceremony instead, while ex-Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and George W Bush are expected to attend.
A steel beam recovered from the South Tower of the World Trade Center is seen at the ‘Steel Across America’ event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on September 08, 2026 in Washington, DC
President Trump welcomed 9/11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s ‘Steel Across America’ event at the White House
The Ellipse was full of black-and-white photos of firs-responders who died in the 9/11 attack
Other administration officials are expected to attend a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United 93 crashed after passengers overcame the hijackers.
Speaking to an audience on the White House’s Ellipse lawn speckled with photographs of fallen first responders, the president delivered remarks honoring the solemn occasion and the sacrifice of those who ran towards the flaming towers over two decades ago.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation CEO Frank Siller, who lost his firefighter brother Stephen Siller in the terror attacks, spoke alongside the president.
He said some of the men on the black-and-white posters were people he knew personally, and others were friends of his brother.
This is a breaking news story that will continue to be updated.
