President Trump is said to be exploring ways for the federal government to take control of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, an idea that has drawn sharp criticism from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“Just months after slashing funding for the World Trade Center Health Program that cares for survivors and first responders, President Trump now wants to take over the 9/11 Memorial Museum,” Hochul said in a statement Friday.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it would lay off most of the staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which oversees the WTC Health Program — a decision reversed days later following bipartisan outrage.
President Donald Trump, left, and J.D. Vance attend the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Around 137,000 first responders and survivors rely on the program to get treatment and medication for conditions caused by exposure to the toxins that swirled around Ground Zero during 9/11 and the months that followed.
“The 9/11 Memorial belongs to New Yorkers — the families, survivors and first responders who have carried this legacy for more than two decades and ensured we never forget,” Hochul said. “Before he meddles with this sacred site, the president should start by honoring survivors and supporting the families of victims.”
On Friday afternoon, backing up Hochul, four Democratic politicians representing lower Manhattan fired off a joint statement telling Trump to “scrap” any idea of a takeover plan. Rep. Dan Goldman, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Councilmember Chris Marte and Assemblymember Charles Fall scoffed the president’s bid for the solemn site is all about his ego.
“As the Twin Towers were burning on 9/11, Donald Trump bragged that his downtown building was now the tallest in Lower Manhattan and later spread Islamophobic hate,” they said.
“As the elected officials who represent the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, we ask that President Trump dig deep to find some respect for the thousands who died 24 years ago, focus what remains of his energy on ways that he can actually improve the lives of New Yorkers, and put his destructive narcissism to the side by scrapping this misguided idea.”
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum opened in 2014 as a “monument to human dignity, courage and sacrifice” whose mission is to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks and salute rescue and recovery workers.
“[It] stands as a powerful tribute to the victims of the attacks — and to the resilience of the human spirit. Its importance will only grow with each passing year,” said chairman Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor and outspoken Trump critic.
While the White House declined to elaborate on the president’s plans, it confirmed the administration has had “preliminary exploratory discussions” about a possible takeover.
Sheryl Magnuson places a flower in her father’s name where it is inscribed on the National 9/11 Memorial south pool following the commemoration ceremony at the memorial on September 11, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Last year, then-candidate Trump pledged to “make the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center a national monument protected and maintained by the United States government.”
However, according to Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the move is ill-advised, given the federal government’s current focus on trimming its budget.
“At a time when the federal government is working to cut costs, assuming the full operating expenses for the site makes no sense,” she said in a statement.
According to museum officials and its most recently available tax filings, the organization spent roughly $84 million on operating costs last year, but generated more than $93 million in revenue.
Hillman said the museum is “confident that our current operating model has served the public honorably and effectively” — despite there having been criticism over the years from some families of the victims, some of whom have called for lower ticket prices or changes to the exhibits.
Additionally, museum officials say the federal government doesn’t have the power to unilaterally take over the site, which is located on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
With News Wire Services
Originally Published: September 6, 2025 at 12:39 PM EDT