Trump to Mark 9/11 Anniversary at Pentagon

The 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is being marked with ceremonies honoring nearly 3,000 victims, first responders, recovery workers, survivors and residents who later died from related illnesses. President Donald Trump is expected to commemorate the anniversary at the Pentagon rather than attend the Ground Zero ceremony, where Vice President JD Vance is slated to represent the administration amid political disputes over participation, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s involvement. New York’s observance includes moments of silence, heightened security and major traffic restrictions, while communities elsewhere are holding local tributes. At a White House Ellipse event ahead of the anniversary, Trump honored victims and responders, posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Welles Crowther, and announced that the Coast Guard will commission a cutter named for firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo, who died in the attacks. The event featured a 21-foot World Trade Center steel beam in the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Steel Across America tour, while newly released documents showed asbestos remained detectable near Ground Zero 10 months after the attacks. Tributes also emphasize individual acts of heroism and efforts to preserve the attacks’ meaning as fewer Americans have personal memories of them.