Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani attended the 24th anniversary ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, arriving in a wheelchair and wearing a large body brace in his first public appearance since a serious car crash last month.
Giuliani, who was New York’s mayor on Sept. 11, 2001, joined hundreds of mourners and dignitaries at the reflecting pools for the annual observance that includes six moments of silence to mark the key times of the attacks. He was seen speaking with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and FBI Director Kash Patel and shaking hands with officials. Giuliani was hospitalized after suffering a fractured vertebrae when his vehicle was rear-ended on Interstate 93 in New Hampshire on Aug. 30. "I got terrible injuries but I would have been killed if I didn’t have my seatbelt on," he said last week on "The Rudy Giuliani Show," while wearing the brace.
Family members read the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed when hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Roses and other floral tributes were placed on the bronze name panels at the memorial. The ceremony drew former and current officials, first responders and relatives of the victims and featured moments of silence timed to the strikes and collapses of the twin towers and the other attacks of that day.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former FDNY Commissioner Tom Von Essen were among those in attendance. Von Essen, who led the Fire Department on Sept. 11, 2001, reflected on the annual resurgence of grief and the sacrifices of firefighters. He noted the continuing toll of the attacks, including the hundreds of department members who have since died of 9/11-related illnesses. Officials and advocacy groups point to tens of thousands diagnosed with WTC-related conditions; data from the World Trade Center Health Program cited in recent reporting showed more than 48,000 people diagnosed with 9/11-linked illnesses, a rise that public-health advocates have said highlights the long-term human cost of the attacks.
A bipartisan delegation from the House Homeland Security Committee visited Ground Zero on Thursday as part of a series of observances and security briefings tied to the anniversary. Committee chair Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., led the delegation, which planned to lay flowers at the memorial and take a staff-led tour of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Garbarino said remembering the attacks remains "a call to action" for homeland security work and stressed that preparations for major upcoming events must reflect continuing threats.
"Twenty-four years later, it’s critical to remember that [the Department of Homeland Security] and the Committee on Homeland Security were created in the aftermath of one of the darkest days in our nation’s history," Garbarino said in a statement. "As a lifelong New Yorker and a proud Long Islander, 'Never Forget' is about more than remembrance; it is a call to action that guides my work every day, and it will continue to guide the Committee’s."
Members of the committee cited recent assessments that have identified New York City as a persistent target for attempted or actual attacks. A 2023 review by the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice found New York had the highest number of attempted or actual terror incidents in the United States. Committee members said they would continue oversight of federal preparations for high-profile events on U.S. soil, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Legislative efforts highlighted by lawmakers include proposals aimed at countering online radicalization and assessing the threat posed by foreign terrorist groups using cloud-based messaging services. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, reintroduced the Countering Online Radicalization and Terrorism Act earlier this year, a bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct annual assessments of such threats.
The committee’s planned observances included a visit to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a 2026 World Cup venue, to review security preparations. White House task force members on World Cup security were expected to join that stop; Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy Giuliani, leads the White House’s FIFA World Cup Task Force.
Separately, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attended a ceremony at the Pentagon on Thursday to mark the anniversary. Some elected officials who had announced plans to visit the memorial did not attend; one campaign and congressional movement reported that Sen. J.D. Vance canceled a planned Ground Zero stop to travel to Utah following the reported assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Thursday’s memorial underscored both the enduring personal losses from the attacks and the policy discussions they continue to prompt about homeland security, first-responder care and preparation for large-scale events. Authorities and lawmakers emphasized that remembrance and ongoing policy work are intertwined as federal, state and local officials prepare for future threats.
