Melania Trump, JD Vance, Marco Rubio will not attend rescheduled WHCD

Friday night will mark the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner, with First Lady Melania Trump among a number of big names not attending the event. The event was rescheduled from April, when a gunman attempted to attack the event.

Among those who will not be attending Friday’s dinner, along with Melania Trump, are Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Per USA Today, the White House said that the First Lady, Vance, and Rubio all have scheduling conflicts. Also not attending due to scheduling is House Speaker Mike Johnson, who attended the April event as a guest.

Those who will be in attendance are War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and FBI Director Kash Patel. Friday’s event will be held at the Waldorf Astoria in downtown DC, a hotel that Trump had renovated.

The event was first held on April 25, 2026. Not long into the evening, shots rang out, with Trump, the First Lady, Vance, and other officials being evacuated from the building.

Cole Allen, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the attempted assassination of Trump at the event. Allen was apprehended at the Washington Hilton as the event was taking place after he rushed past a Secret Service checkpoint and opened fire. Allen has also been charged with assault on law enforcement, transporting a firearm across state lines to commit a felony and discharging a weapon during a crime of violence.

He is alleged to have traveled from his home in California via train to DC in the days leading up to the April dinner, and checked into the Washington Hilton prior to the event. Allen left a manifesto, in which he mocked the event’s security and said that administration officials, from highest-ranking to lowest, were targets.