A recent article by Washington Post noted that the White House did not implement the highest levels of security at the correspondents’ dinner on April 25, in which the authorities had to evacuate President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet due to an armed man inside the hotel where the event took place.
According to close sources who gave statements to the media, Donald Trump’s administration had a lower level of security during dinner, despite the fact that not only the president was present at the eventbut also the first lady, Melania Trump; Vice President JD Vance; the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; Secretary of War Pete Hegseth; Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, and Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy.
Other officials who were at the correspondents’ dinner were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson; the director of Homeland Security, Tulsi Gabbard, and the director of the FBI, Kash Patel.
The outlet explains that, in situations where a large number of officials gather, whether for an inauguration or a speech, the Secretary of Homeland Security He usually delegates responsibility for coordinating site security to the Secret Service.
This designation is known as “National Special Security Event“.
However, Washington Post He stated that he did not such designation was made for last Saturday’s event.
Furthermore, it was pointed out that Thousands of journalists and other government officials attendedaccording to sources from local and federal authorities who requested anonymity due to not be authorized to comment on security details.
The arrest of Cole Allen, the man who tried to enter the dance hall where the dinner was being held armed, has put the spotlight on the security system and on the possibility that the so-called “designated survivor” system may be applied in events of this type.
This mechanism, which is activated each year during the State of the Union address, seeks to prevent the Administration from being completely decapitated if there is an attack on the Capitol.
Since practically the entire Cabinet is in Congress to hear the president’s speech, protocol requires appointing a member of the Government that remains during the speech in a secure location that is not disclosed.