PTI
Washington, Updated At : 08:58 AM Apr 28, 2026 IST
A top White House official has convened a meeting later this week with the US Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security to review security for President Donald Trump following a shooting incident that was foiled at the Washington Hilton hotel during the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner.
The attempted attack at the Washington Hilton drew attention to the presidential line of succession because several cabinet secretaries were in attendance. Susan Wiles, the White House chief of staff, called the meeting to discuss protocols and practices as Mr. Trump is scheduled to participate in multiple public events before the 250th anniversary of American Independence on July 4.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said officials had considered a designated survivor and reviewed the line of succession prior to the WHCA dinner. “But there were several members of the Cabinet in the line of succession who did not attend for various personal reasons. So designating one survivor was not necessary as we have several members who were not there already,” she said.
Leavitt said Wiles’s meeting will include a “conversation” on whether the president and Vice President JD Vance should attend the same public events. Besides Trump and Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — all in the line of succession — were present at the dinner.
“I think the Secret Service needs to reconsider having both the president and vice president together at something like that,” Republican Rep. Michael McCaul told CNN. Senator John Fetterman commented on X that the venue “wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the US government,” and called for a purpose-built White House ballroom for such gatherings.
Leavitt said the president intends to attend a rescheduled WHCA dinner within the next 30 days and that whether the vice president attends will be discussed. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, president pro tempore of the Senate and third in the line of succession after the vice president and the House speaker, did not attend the dinner.
“The Secret Service does not detail their procedures or operations to the public for obvious reasons, because you have crazy people who try to hijack them and get around them,” Leavitt added. She said discussions on security adjustments will take place in private and that any necessary changes to protect the president will be made.
Grassley and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin were briefed by US Secret Service Director Sean Curran on security protocols and law enforcement matters related to the WHCA dinner.
The US Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 set the order of succession: Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, then cabinet secretaries in the order of State, Treasury, Defense, Attorney General, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins served as the designated survivor for President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address on February 24–25, 2026, remaining at a secure, undisclosed location to ensure continuity of government.
