West Virginia will send a second Christmas tree to the nation’s capital this year.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office said a 40-foot Norway spruce from the Monongahela National Forest will be placed on the Ellipse at the White House.
The previous White House Christmas tree had to be replaced after developing a fungal disease.
Manchin says this is the first time the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service have partnered to bring a tree to the Ellipse.
“These tree lighting celebrations are wonderful traditions that bring our great country together, and West Virginia’s role this year will be absolutely historic,” Manchin said in a statement Wednesday.
A 63-foot Norway spruce is already on its way to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and scheduled to arrive on Friday. It also comes from the Monongahela National Forest.
That tree will be lit after Thanksgiving, with Manchin as the host.
A Fraser fir from a tree farm in Jefferson County decorated the White House Blue Room in 2020.