The White House confirmed Monday it is reviewing whether Vice President J.D. Vance should attend the same public events as President Trump following a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday, where at least 12 of the 18 officials in the presidential line of succession were seated in the same ballroom.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration plans to have a “conversation” about separating Trump and Vance at future events to guard against an attack incapacitating both men, Politico reports.
“I don’t want to rule in or out the vice president’s attendance, but certainly that’s a conversation that will take place,” she told reporters Monday.
She added that President Trump plans to attend a rescheduled version of the dinner.
Six of the seven top officials in the presidential succession chain attended Saturday’s event at the Washington Hilton. In order behind Vance: House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, 92, did not attend. He was home recovering from surgery.
It is unclear whether a designated survivor was designated for the dinner. The White House did not answer that question directly.
The practice of designating a survivor is standard at events such as the State of the Union address and presidential inaugurations, where one senior official is kept in a secure, undisclosed location in case of a catastrophic attack. Those events, however, are held at the Capitol, where security protocols are substantially more rigorous than at a Washington hotel ballroom.
Acting AG Blanche downplayed concerns about the concentration of top officials.
“The system worked,” Blanche told ABC News’ “This Week.” “Law enforcement and the Secret Service protected all of us. The man barely got past the perimeter. And so when you have a perimeter designed to keep people safe, like President Trump, and it works, that’s something that should be applauded.”
Federal prosecutors charged California man Cole Thomas Allen on Monday with attempted assassination of the president. Allen allegedly opened fire near the ballroom entrance in what authorities described as a targeted attempt against Trump and his Cabinet. Trump was not present at the dinner; six members of his Cabinet were.
The 18-person presidential succession chain runs from the vice president to the Secretary of Homeland Security. At least 12 of those officials were in the hotel when the shooting occurred.
