The White House Correspondents’ Association will hold its rescheduled annual dinner Friday night under significantly tighter security, moving the event from the cavernous Washington Hilton ballroom to the Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C., where a sharply reduced crowd is expected to gather following April’s shooting.
About 2,600 people attended the original April dinner, which was cut short after alleged gunman Cole Allen charged a security checkpoint and was stopped before reaching the ballroom. Now, only about 700 people are expected Friday, after the shooter made President Donald Trump and other key officials a top target of his violent entry into the last event, according to the Justice Department.
The smaller event is being held at the Waldorf Astoria, the former Trump International Hotel, which offers a more contained security environment than the Hilton. Secret Service officials said attendees will face airport-style screening, fewer access points, and restricted surrounding streets. Guests will be directed to a separate entrance rather than entering through the hotel’s main lobby.
The Waldorf also has fewer ballroom doors and possible entry points than the Hilton’s expansive ballroom complex, a factor that has shaped planning for an event where the president, Cabinet officials, prominent journalists, and other guests will be in attendance.
Electronic ticketing is another major change. At the April dinner, attendees carried paper holographic invitation cards without QR codes. Friday’s guests will receive individual QR codes and wristbands tied to their access, allowing security personnel to more closely control who enters the venue.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran defended the April security operation this week, telling reporters that the fact Allen was intercepted before entering the ballroom showed “the system worked.” But Friday’s changes underscore how seriously officials are taking vulnerabilities exposed by the incident. Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales was shot during the encounter with Cole in April and survived with minimal wounds thanks to a bulletproof jacket.
The evening will honor Gonzales with the WHCA’s President’s Award for Exceptional Service. It will also recognize journalists who have faced sharp criticism from Trump and his administration, including New York Times reporter Tyler Pager, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Wall Street Journal reporters, and Associated Press journalists.
Pager’s award comes one day after the Justice Department withdrew subpoenas seeking information from New York Times journalists about sources for a report concerning Trump’s plane from Qatar. The subpoenas had been criticized as an attempt to pressure reporters and weaken protections for confidential sources.
Trump is scheduled to speak Friday after missing his planned April remarks because of the abrupt evacuation. First lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are not expected to attend because of scheduling conflicts, though War Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are among officials expected to attend.
Both Trump and WHCA leadership resisted allowing the shooting to permanently end the event. Trump struck a defiant tone after the April attack, while the association moved to reschedule rather than abandon its dinner, framing Friday’s gathering as a continuation of an annual tradition interrupted by violence.
PROMISE KEPT: A DEFIANT TRUMP TO ATTEND WHCA DINNER REDO AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
The changed venue, diminished crowd, and new screening procedures will make the night look far different from the April affair. But organizers and the White House are proceeding with the dinner — and with Trump’s long-delayed speech — under a security posture designed to ensure it can finish this time.
The dinner begins at 8 p.m. EDT, with red-carpet arrivals and a livestream beginning at 6 p.m. It will be the first time since 1972 that the event has not been held at the Hilton.