Twenty-four years ago today, thousands of Americans ran toward danger while others fled. Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, construction workers, volunteers—they risked everything to save lives at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville. They breathed toxic dust, worked through the night, and spent months in the wreckage searching for survivors.
We promised them we would never forget. We lied.
Since February, the Trump administration has systematically dismantled the World Trade Center Health Program. This federal program provides free medical care to over 132,000 first responders and survivors suffering from 9/11-related illnesses. The cuts have been swift, brutal, and deadly.
The Assault on Care
Here's what Trump's team has done:
February 2025: The so-called Department of Government Efficiency fired 16 WTC Health Program staffers and forced out 5 others through "buyouts," including the medical benefits team leader and Director of Research.
April 2025: The administration fired Dr. John Howard, the program's administrator and NIOSH director, along with 873 other NIOSH staff members who support the program.
May 2025: Despite promises to spare remaining staff, Trump fired another 16 WTC Health Program workers.
The result: The program lost over 20% of its workforce, dropping from 93 filled positions to fewer than 73. But the human cost goes far beyond spreadsheet numbers.
Cancer Patients Left to Die
The staffing cuts created a cascading crisis that reached its most unconscionable point in late April 2025: the program stopped certifying cancer cases entirely.
Dr. David Prezant, Chief Medical Officer of the FDNY's WTC Health Program, documented the horror in real time. On April 29th alone, he couldn't authorize treatment for three cancer patients. One of them had life-threatening pancreatic cancer.
Read that again: A 9/11 first responder with pancreatic cancer was denied treatment authorization because Trump's cuts left the program unable to function.
For weeks, every WTC Health Program clinic in the New York area reported the same nightmare: they could no longer provide treatment for new cancer cases. The certification process—the bureaucratic step that unlocks life-saving care—had ground to a halt.
Jim Brosi, president of the NYC Uniformed Fire Officers Association, confirmed the scope: "During one of the proposed cuts, we had three members who were denied authorization for cancer treatment."
The Broader Devastation
The cancer crisis represents just the tip of the iceberg. Trump's cuts have systematically destroyed the program's ability to serve the 9/11 community:
Enrollment collapse: The program typically enrolls 600-800 new people each month. In April 2025, that number dropped to virtually zero because there wasn't enough staff to process applications.
Massive delays: Wait times to see a doctor for program enrollment have ballooned to 6-8 months. If you're a 9/11 survivor developing cancer symptoms, you'll wait half a year just to begin the enrollment process.
Research frozen: $20 million in research grants studying connections between 9/11 exposure and various diseases have been suspended because the staff who managed them were fired.
New conditions ignored: The program was supposed to decide in March 2025 whether to add autoimmune conditions, cardiac conditions, dementia, and cognitive decline to the list of covered illnesses. Those decisions never happened. As of August 2025, the program has stopped reviewing whether new illnesses tied to Ground Zero exposures should be covered at all.
Administrative paralysis: Since February, the program has operated under a "temporary" communications pause that has now lasted eight months. Staff can't travel to meetings. Contract renewals for treatment centers aren't being completed. Basic program functions have ceased.
The Human Reality
Behind these statistics are human beings who answered their country's call when it mattered most. They believed the government when it said the air at Ground Zero was safe to breathe. They trusted that America would take care of them if they got sick from their service.
Now they're developing the cancers we knew would come —over 70 types linked to 9/11 exposure. Lung cancer. Prostate cancer. Blood cancers. Brain cancer. Skin cancer. The toxic cocktail of pulverized concrete, asbestos, jet fuel, and countless other carcinogens is claiming its victims exactly as medical experts predicted.
When these heroes seek the care they were promised, they're told to wait in line. When they develop life-threatening cancers, they're denied treatment authorization. When they die waiting for care, the program shrugs and moves on.
Ben Chevat from Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act calls it what it is: "bureaucratic cruelty."
The Betrayal in Context
Trump's assault on the WTC Health Program fits a broader pattern of his administration's war on federal health agencies. Led by RFK Jr. at Health and Human Services, the administration has fired over 10,000 federal health workers across the CDC, NIOSH, National Institutes of Health, and FDA.
But targeting the WTC Health Program carries special moral weight. These cuts abandon people who are literal American heroes—individuals who responded when their country faced its darkest hour.
When pressed about the cuts, Trump deflected, claiming he helped 9/11 victims during his first presidency. The deflection only makes the current betrayal more stark. He knows these people deserve care. He's choosing to deny it anyway.
The Promise We Made
After 9/11, America made a sacred promise. We erected monuments and held ceremonies. We said "Never Forget." We vowed that those who sacrificed for others would be taken care of when they needed us most.
The World Trade Center Health Program, created in 2011 and reauthorized through 2090, was that promise made concrete. It represented our commitment that if you got sick because you served your country during its darkest hour, America would be there for you.
Trump's cuts shatter that commitment. They tell cancer patients that their sacrifice was meaningless. They tell dying heroes to wait in line. They prove that our promises meant nothing.
What You Can Do
The destruction can be reversed, but only with sustained pressure:
Contact your representatives: Call, write, and demand full funding and staffing restoration for the WTC Health Program. Make it clear that cuts to 9/11 hero healthcare are politically unacceptable. You can call (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative.
Support advocacy organizations: Groups like Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act are fighting for these heroes every day. They need resources and amplification.
Share their stories: The Trump administration benefits from public indifference. Make sure people know what's happening to our 9/11 heroes.
Vote: Remember this betrayal in every election. Politicians who abandon heroes deserve to be abandoned by voters.
Never Forget, Never Abandon
On this anniversary, we face a choice. We can allow Trump's cuts to stand, accepting that our promises to 9/11 heroes were just empty words. Or we can fight to restore the care they were promised and deserve.
The heroes of 9/11 kept faith with America when it mattered most. They ran toward danger. They breathed toxic air. They searched through rubble. They rebuilt our city. They did their job.
Now it's time we did ours.
We said never forget. Let's prove we meant it.
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