Wisconsin senator wants 9/11 probe, cites conspiracy theories. NY leaders react – Lohud

• “My guess is there’s an awful lot being covered up, in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin.
• “Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost,” U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler said.
• John Feal, a longtime advocate for 9/11 first responders, on CNN called the idea for new hearings pathetic. “Ron Johnson’s a silly man.”

Advocates for 9/11 health programs blasted U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s call for yet another congressional probe into the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Instead of reviving long-debunked conspiracy theories, advocates said, the Wisconsin Republican should join the fight to secure healthcare for the first responders and residents poisoned by the toxic swirl that enveloped lower Manhattan.

“If he wants to have hearings on 9/11, (Johnson) could have them examine the cuts to World Trade Center Health Program by the Trump administration that are happening today and the impact these cuts will have on 9/11 responders and survivors suffering from the attacks, rather than fringe topics from decades ago,” said Benjamin Chevat, executive director Citizens for Extension of the James Zadroga Act, Inc.

The World Trade Center Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment for some 140,000 9/11 responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. WTCHP participants reside in all 50 states.

GOP colleague calls Johnson’s 9/11 comments ‘crap’

“My guess is there’s an awful lot being covered up, in terms of what the American government knows about 9/11,” Johnson said in an April 21 interview with conservative influencer Benny Johnson. “With this administration, I think President Trump should have some interest, being a New Yorker himself.”

Another GOP New Yorker, though, questioned Johnson’s call.

“Respectfully, Senator Johnson should stop peddling conspiracy theories about the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history and one that forever altered the lives of so many of my fellow New Yorkers,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican whose 17th District includes Rockland and Putnam counties and parts of Westchester and Dutchess, areas that lost many residents in the attacks.

“Crap like this dishonors and disrespects the innocent lives lost, our brave first responders, and all families and survivors who still carry the pain of 9/11 each and every day,” U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler posted on X.

John Feal, a longtime advocate for 9/11 first responders, on CNN called the idea for new hearings pathetic: “Ron Johnson’s a silly man.”

9/11 healthcare in peril, again, advocates say

The World Trade Center Health Program and the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund have faced funding shortfalls practically since they launched in 2011. First responders have repeatedly made trips to D.C. to walk the halls of Congress to lobby for funding.

A plan to fix cyclical funding shortfalls was included last year’s end-of-year budget deal. But in December 2024, then-President-elect Donald Trump pushed GOP leaders in Congress to scrap spending items, including 9/11 health program commitments.

Congressional members have introduced the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 to revive the funding fix; 9/11 responders, including Feal, plan to go back to D.C. Tuesday, April 28, to advocate for its passage. Democrats and Republicans in both chambers across New York are co-sponsors; Johnson is not.

Meanwhile, WTCHP jobs have twice been on the chopping block this year.

In February, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, slashed jobs at WTCHP; the Trump administration restored them amid backlash.

In April, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced sweeping cuts to CDC and NIOSH, which includes the WTCHP.

While key staff were again restored amid backlash, advocates have said they are concerned cuts throughout the HHS will impact 9/11 healthcare.

9/11 conspiracy focus: Building 7 collapse

Johnson in the April 21 interview raised a long debunked theory that Building 7 within the World Trade Center complex had been taken down by planted explosives. The building wasn’t hit by a plane, like the Twin Towers, and collapsed hours after the initial attacks.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology determined that debris from the destruction of the Twin Towers started fires on floors of Building 7. The sprinkler system failed, and heat from the flames meant a structural column failed, ultimately causing the building to fall.

Johnson called the institute, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, corrupt.

Congress also held hearings in 2021 — two decades after Sept. 11 — where intelligence and security officials gave insight into the attacks and intelligence failures before 9/11.

Johnson has the power to push for such an investigation; he chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, part of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs in the Senate.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached out to Johnson’s office for additional details. A spokeswoman said a potential hearing would depend on what information or documentation Johnson’s office obtains.