President Trump honored first responders and commemorated the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks by unveiling a massive steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center's South Tower on the White House lawn.
The 21-foot, approximately 16,900-pound beam has traveled across the United States as part of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Steel Across America tour, an initiative aimed at raising funds for the nonprofit that supports first responders and remembers those lost in the attacks.
The event, held on the Ellipse, was attended by first responders and US service members. President Trump delivered remarks honoring the occasion and the sacrifices made by those who responded to the attacks on September 11, 2001.
Frank Siller, CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and whose firefighter brother Stephen Siller died in the attacks, also spoke at the event. The Ellipse was adorned with black-and-white photographs of first responders who died during the 9/11 attacks.
Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks at the Pentagon's 9/11 memorial on the anniversary. He had reportedly expressed interest in speaking at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, but the museum's policy, in place since 2012, is to avoid partisanship at ceremonies, barring politicians from speaking.
Vice President JD Vance will represent the Trump administration at the New York ceremony, while former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush are expected to attend. Other administration officials are slated to attend a ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Flight 93 crashed.