The shooting that forced the evacuation of President Donald Trump and several senior officials of his Government on Saturday has put the spotlight on the protocols used in the country to guarantee presidential and national security.
On social networks and in the media, several political figures expressed their opinions about the protocols used at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), held at the Hilton hotel in Washington and attended by Trump, the first lady, Melania Trump; the vice president, JD Vance, and the secretaries of State, Marco Rubio; War, Pete Hegseth; Tesoro, Scott Bessent, and Salud, Robert Kennedy Jr.
Also present 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.
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres was one of the most critical of the plan and the security device.
“No security watch over was required to access an event involving the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, members of the Cabinet and other officials in the line of succession“Torres wrote on social networks.
Beyond the security measures at the venue, the comment refers to the so-called “designated survivor” system, which is used during the State of the Union address each year and seeks to prevent the Administration from being completely decapitated if an attack on the Capitol occurs.
Since practically the entire Cabinet is in Congress to listen to the president’s speech, protocol requires the designation of a member of the Government who remains during the speech in a secure location that is not disclosed.
Texas Congressman Michael McCaul was very clear during an interview with CNN regarding the possibility of reconsidering the guest list for the annual correspondents’ dinner. in Washington.
“I think the Secret Service should reconsider the idea of bringing the president and vice president together at such an event,” he said.
Instead, The acting customary prosecutor, Todd Blanche, assured the CBS network that the Trump Government will not stop participating in events and highlighted the quick action of the Secret Service in arresting Cole Allen, the man who tried to enter the ballroom where the dinner was being held armed.
Many others have also wanted to question the device for entry to the event, which had a centralized security watch over the hotel lobby, and They have raised the need to establish more levels to carry out an event like the correspondents’ dinner, which Trump himself has said he wants to hold again within a month.
For his part, the congressman who chairs the Oversight Committee of the Lower House, James Comer, assured in X that the body has requested to hold a briefing with the Secret Service about the incident and focused attention on the need to approve a budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has been partially closed since February due to the Democrats’ boycott of the Trump Administration’s harsh immigration policies.
With information from EFE
Keep reading:
• FBI director says they are ready for a second correspondents’ dinner after shooting
• Trump says he was not worried after dinner shooting in Washington: “I understand life, we live in a crazy world”
• The Washington Post: The dinner with Trump did not have the maximum level of security required