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The suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting told law enforcement after his arrest Saturday night that he intended to target Trump administration officials, senior federal law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News.

Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen, of Torrance, Calif., adding that he prepared a manifesto outlining his intent and shared anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media.

SECURITY UNDER SCRUTINY AS WHCD ATTENDEES CITE INCONSISTENT SCREENING BEFORE SHOOTING

As the dinner was underway, Allen allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton while armed with multiple weapons and opened fire, striking a Secret Service officer in his ballistic vest.

Agents returned fire and tackled Allen to the ground. The suspect and the injured officer were transported to a hospital. The Secret Service agent is expected to recover.

The incident adds to a growing list of threats against President Donald Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent incident involving an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago.

SECRET SERVICE IN LINE OF FIRE AT WHCA SHOOTING STILL UNPAID DUE TO DEM-LED SHUTDOWN

Overnight, the FBI and local law enforcement secured Allen’s home in Torrance, California. A federal judge in the Central District of California is expected to approve a search warrant, which would allow investigators to search the residence.

The White House said Sunday that Allen’s brother contacted the New London Police Department in Connecticut prior to the shooting, reporting that Allen had sent family members an alleged manifesto outlining his intent to target administration officials.

Officials also said Allen’s social media included anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric. President Trump speaking on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing,” described Allen as “a very troubled guy,” citing the manifesto.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SUSPECT CHECKED INTO HILTON HOTEL ONE DAY BEFORE THE SHOOTING: SOURCES

Allen’s sister, Avriana Allen, told investigators in Rockville, Maryland, that her brother had made increasingly radical statements and often spoke about doing “something” to address issues in the world.

She said he had purchased two handguns and a shotgun, which he stored at their parents’ home without their knowledge, and that he regularly trained at a shooting range.

She also told authorities that Allen was affiliated with a group called “The Wide Awakes” and had attended a “No Kings” protest in California.

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Investigators believe Allen traveled from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., by train, with a stop in Chicago, according to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. He said the investigation is ongoing and that more details are expected as formal charges are filed.

Blanche also noted that while the motive remains under investigation, authorities preliminarily believe Allen was targeting administration officials.

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, Bill Melugin and Matt Finn, along with Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace, Peter D’Abrosca and Asra Q. Nomani contributed to this report.

A shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is raising fresh questions about security at one of Washington’s highest-profile events, with some attendees describing what they saw as lapses in screening and access control.

While the Secret Service and federal law enforcement moved quickly to secure President Donald Trump and other officials, accounts from attendees and lawmakers have painted a mixed picture of the security posture at the Washington Hilton.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING SHARPENS FOCUS ON TRUMP’S BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION PROPOSAL

Misha Komadovsky, a journalist for Germany’s DW, shared a photo on X of the paper ticket used by attendees to gain access to the event, saying it was “the only thing required” for entry into the Washington Hilton ballroom. “There was no security screening prior to entering the lobby,” he wrote.

ABC News reporter Beatrice Peterson, who wrote on X that she has attended the event for more than a decade, offered a more measured assessment, saying the overall security posture appeared consistent with past years. 

She noted that pre-event gatherings tend to be more fluid, while the dinner itself is typically more tightly controlled, and that security — both plainclothes and uniformed — is always present inside and outside the venue.

Peterson described the crowd and security presence as “typical-ish” for a year in which the president attends the dinner, suggesting no obvious deviations from past practice.

However, she said multiple investigations are expected to examine what happened and whether any failures occurred, adding the incident could permanently change how the event is handled going forward.

SECRET SERVICE IN LINE OF FIRE AT WHCA SHOOTING STILL UNPAID DUE TO DEM-LED SHUTDOWN

Harrison Fields, a former White House principal deputy press secretary, told “FOX & Friends” there were “no checkpoints to get into the hotel,” adding that the gunman could have been “roaming” and observing attendees before the incident.

“There was a VIP reception right off the main ballroom where Cabinet secretaries were, where the president could have been — and there was no security apparatus leading up to that point,” Fields said.

Fields acknowledged that the Secret Service and local law enforcement “took immediate steps to keep us safe,” but said there was “no real buffer” in place, which he noticed as soon as he arrived.

WORLD LEADERS CONDEMN ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ VIOLENCE AFTER ARMED ATTACK DISRUPTS WH CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER

Even as some attendees described the security posture as typical, lawmakers offered a far more critical assessment.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., pointed to what he described as “glaring security issues,” even as he acknowledged that the Secret Service and federal law enforcement “acted swiftly” to secure the ballroom and move President Donald Trump and other officials to safety.

In a post on X, Lawler said there was no photo ID requirement or verified attendee list, which he noted is standard for White House events. He also cited the absence of magnetometers before entry to the ballroom and said multiple pre-event receptions with limited security created potential access points.

Lawler said the building remained open to the public and raised concerns about accountability inside the room, noting there was no clear handle on how many members of Congress were present or where they were seated.

He called for a “complete and thorough after-action” review, focusing on how the gunman moved from his hotel room into what he described as a secure area with multiple firearms.

ARMED MAN SHOT AND KILLED AFTER ‘UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY’ INTO MAR-A-LAGO: SECRET SERVICE

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who attended the dinner, also raised concerns about the venue itself. “We were there front and center,” Fetterman said. “That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government.”

Similarily, Kari Lake, a Trump ally in attendance, echoed criticism of the security measures. “I was there. Security was terrible at the event,” Lake wrote on X. “It was the easiest event I’ve ever gained access to that the president was at. It was so bad we talked about it at our table before the shots rang out.”

The Washington Hilton has long hosted high-level government events, including gatherings attended by the president, vice president and members of Congress beyond the annual dinner.

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Last week, the First Lady’s Luncheon was held in the same ballroom, where first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance delivered remarks.

The Secret Service’s familiarity with the venue helped enable a swift response — and is one reason the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been held there annually since 1968.

EXCLUSIVE: A major change to the National Park entry fee structure lambasted by Democrats as discriminatory has led to a moderate windfall for conservation efforts undertaken by the Department of the Interior.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., led a December letter co-signed by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and others slamming DOI Secretary Doug Burgum’s plan to increase national park annual passes to $250 for foreign visitors while the $80 rate for residents remains in place. An additional $100 is also tacked on to nonresident visitors at the most trafficked parks.

Padilla separately called the plan “discriminatory,” while Schiff and his co-signers said the move fails to meet public notice guidelines, risks retention of visitors’ personal information and raises questions about how DOI would facilitate the discrepant fee structure when a carload of people show up at the gate.

But the Interior Department went ahead with the plan, and in the first quarter of 2026, the disparate fee structure led to more than $2 million being collected from foreign visitors, Burgum’s office told Fox News Digital.

KRISTI NOEM’S FIRING FAILS TO SWAY DEMOCRATS AS DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON

“The millions of dollars in new revenue generated from this administration’s Non-Resident park passes is proof that President Donald J. Trump was right to put affordability for Americans first as we change how the Department of Interior raises money to support conservation from foreign visitors,” said DOI press secretary Aubrie Spady.

“As we approach our great nation’s 250th birthday, initiatives like America First pricing, along with the addition of the America the Beautiful pass featuring President Trump, are delivering meaningful benefits for both our parks and the American people by celebrating our nation’s history while investing in its future.”

In their letter calling on Burgum to stop implementation of the program, Padilla and Schiff expressed concern about the effect on “understaffed” park workers, what they said was an already cratering visitation rate from Canadian visitors — which Democrats have blamed on Trump’s sparring with Prime Minister Mark Carney and conjecture about annexing the “51st state” — and what would happen to visitors who cannot produce ID.

AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS

Burgum previously legitimized the disparate fee structure by noting that DOI and national parks are already partially subsidized by every American taxpayer – and that by charging a lesser rate to U.S. residents, the agency is acknowledging that and giving back to American parkgoers.

“These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations,” Burgum said.

Pass sales in the first three months of 2024 totaled $13.7 million, and $14.3 million in 2025.

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As of this year, that figure increased to $16.7 million, with total nonresident revenue so far topping $4.9 million alone.

Padilla and Schiff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump infamously acknowledges he is choosing the world’s most “dangerous profession,” but surviving a third unprecedented assassination attempt — including one where he was shot in the ear — is only hardening his resolve.

“I’ve studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most impactful people, the people that do the most” are the targets, Trump said in a Saturday night White House press briefing after an alleged would-be assassin was stopped by U.S. Secret Service at the Washington Hilton, the notorious site of former President Ronald Reagan’s shooting in 1981.

“You take a look at the people, Abraham Lincoln, I mean, you go through the people that have gone through this where they got them, but the people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that they go after.

“They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much because they like it that way.”

TRUMP STANDS ‘STRONGER THAN EVER’ ONE YEAR AFTER SURVIVING PENNSYLVANIA ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, STAFFERS SAY

In Trump’s case, three thwarted assassinations are part of his presidential lore, facing a string of shootings, plots and major security breaches unlike anything in history.

Trump cautiously admitted, “I hate to say I’m honored by that,” but noted that “the big names” and the big movers are the targets.

Saturday night’s chaos at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington adding a new entry to a list already defined by gunfire in Butler, Pa. (July 13, 2024), an armed suspect at his Florida golf club (Sept. 15, 2024) and the Secret Service discovery of a sniper’s nest in eyeshot of where Air Force One lands at Palm Beach International in Florida.

SCRUTINY INTENSIFIES OVER SECURITY LAPSES SURROUNDING THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING

Trump hailed the unity at the WHCA dinner in a room of some of his fiercest critics in the media, urging Americans to unify in divided political times.

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“In light of this evening’s events, I asked that all Americans recommit with their hearts and resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said. “We have to resolve our differences.”

“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, Independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives — those words are interchangeable, perhaps, but maybe they’re not — but yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record setting crowd. There was a record setting group of people, and there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together,” Trump continued.

TRUMP SAYS HE WON NEW FANS AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘SOMETHING HAPPENED WHEN I GOT SHOT’

“I watched, and I was very, very impressed by that.“

Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed from the Washington Hilton after shots were fired outside the ballroom, where the president had been scheduled to speak.

Authorities said one officer was shot but protected by a ballistic vest, and the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen of California, was taken into custody before breaching the room.

HAWLEY URGES DHS SECRETARY NOEM TO DECLASSIFY ALL TRUMP BUTLER RALLY ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT DOCUMENTS

The three men at the center of the most serious known threats are now Thomas Matthew Crooks (Butler suspect, deceased), Ryan Wesley Routh (Palm Beach suspect, sentenced to life) and now Allen (arrested and charged Saturday night).

Crooks, 20, opened fire at the July 13, 2024, campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI identified Crooks as the shooter after he hit Trump in the right ear and killed rallygoer Corey Comperatore before being shot dead by a Secret Service countersniper.

Routh, 59, received a life sentence for his attempt at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September 2024. Prosecutors said Secret Service agents spotted him with a rifle near the course while Trump was playing, prompting an agent to open fire before Routh could get a shot off.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AFTERMATH, REACTIONS FROM INNER CIRCLE REVEALED IN NEW BOOK

Allen, identified in Saturday night’s Washington incident, is the newest name on that list. Authorities have announced firearms and assault-related charges.

Law enforcement at a Saturday night news conference said Allen was armed with multiple weapons and allegedly fired during a rush at a security perimeter near the dinner, striking a Secret Service agent in his bullet-proof vest before being “tackled” to the ground without taking a bullet from the Secret Service.

“One officer was shot, but saved by the fact that he was wearing a obviously a very good bulletproof vest,” Trump told reporters, many still in their tuxedos, having left the canceled WHCA dinner, too. “He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great. He’s great shape. He’s very high spirits, and we told him we love him and respect him.”

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Taken together, the three cases underscore how Trump’s security profile has changed from unusually fraught to historically extraordinary. One attempt drew blood on a campaign stage, another ended in a life sentence after a rifle ambush at a golf course, and the latest forced a presidential evacuation from one of Washington’s highest-profile public events.

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Trump signaled Saturday night that he does not plan to retreat from public appearances despite the repeated threats.

“The response time was really incredible. and we’re going to reschedule,” Trump said. “We’re going to do it again.”

“We’re not going to let anybody take over our society,” he added. “We’re not going to cancel things out because we can’t do that. We wanted to stay tonight.”

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: SECRET SERVICE ACTING DIRECTOR REVEALS ‘NUMEROUS CHANGES’ AGENCY HAS IMPLEMENTED

Other thwarted plots and security scares

Beyond the three highest-profile cases, Trump has faced a broader pattern of violent threats and close calls dating back to his first campaign.

TRUMP RESPONDS TO CRITICS WITH COUNTERPUNCHES ACROSS POLITICS AND ONGOING CULTURE WARS

In June 2016, Michael Steven Sandford, a British national, allegedly tried to grab a police officer’s gun at a Trump rally in Las Vegas and later told investigators he intended to kill Trump, according to court records and contemporaneous reporting.

In March 2016, Thomas Dimassimo rushed the stage at a Dayton, Ohio, rally before Secret Service agents tackled him.

And in November 2016, Trump was briefly rushed offstage in Reno, Nevada, after someone in the crowd shouted “gun,” though authorities later said the man detained was unarmed.

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Public reporting has also documented later threats not carried out at Trump’s immediate location, including a 2020 ricin letter case; a 2024 murder-for-hire plot tied to Iran; a 2017 North Dakota incident in which a man stole a forklift and aimed it toward the presidential motorcade; and a February 2026 confrontation at Mar-a-Lago in which Secret Service fatally shot a 21-year-old who was armed with a shotgun and gas canister while Trump was in Washington.

The shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday evening has thrust fresh attention on President Donald Trump’s push to build a secure ballroom at the White House, a proposal he says could prevent such threats.

A gunman armed with multiple weapons opened fire near a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton — where hundreds of journalists, celebrities and government officials were attending the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

A Secret Service agent was struck but protected by a ballistic vest, and the suspect was quickly taken into custody, authorities said. Trump told reporters at the White House that he spoke with the agent, adding that he is expected to recover.

SECRET SERVICE IN LINE OF FIRE AT WHCD SHOOTING STILL UNPAID DUE TO DEM-LED SHUTDOWN

Trump pointed to the incident as evidence that the hotel venue was “not a particularly secure building,” arguing that a new White House ballroom — equipped with features like bulletproof materials — would offer a safer alternative.

But the proposal faces hurdles.

The project has been slowed by legal challenges over whether the administration bypassed required approvals, with courts weighing the scope of presidential authority as the case moves forward.

SPRAWLING NEW $250M WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM TO BE PAID FOR BY TRUMP AND DONORS

The planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom has become a political flashpoint, with critics raising concerns about cost and preservation, while Trump and his allies frame it as a largely privately financed security upgrade.

While the White House has hosted countless ceremonial events, it has never had a dedicated ballroom. The new structure would fill that gap, replacing the historic East Wing with a space built to accommodate large-scale gatherings.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the ballroom would seat roughly 650 guests and reflect the building’s classical design.

“The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders… without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away,” Leavitt said during a July 31 briefing, calling the project “a much-needed and exquisite addition.”

FROM THE OVAL OFFICE TO THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER, THE GILDED MAKEOVER EXPANDS

Since returning to office, Trump, a former real estate developer, has embarked on a series of projects aimed at altering the look and feel of the White House and other iconic Washington landmarks.

In February, the president announced in a Truth Social post that the Trump Kennedy Center will close for a two-year renovation.

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In October, Trump unveiled a new monument planned to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary next year. The monument, a near twin of Paris’ iconic Arc de Triomphe, is meant to welcome visitors crossing the Memorial Bridge from Arlington National Cemetery into the heart of the nation’s capital.

Trump has also added golden accents to the Oval Office, added a “walk of fame” to the colonnade outside the Oval Office, renovated the Lincoln bathroom, paved part of the Rose Garden and installed two large American flags on the White House grounds.

Democrats are offering rare praise to President Donald Trump as his push to revitalize Washington, D.C., ahead of the semiquincentennial brings neglected landmarks back to life through various restoration projects.

“Cannot believe it’s taken this long, but this truly makes me so incredibly happy to see,” wrote ActBlue communications strategist Carter Christensen on X in reaction to the Meridian Hill Park fountain flowing once again after years of neglect – one of a handful of social media messages celebrating the update. 

Construction and landscaping projects across Washington, D.C., have accelerated in recent months as the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in July, and follow Trump’s larger effort to beautify the city and lower its crime trends. 

TRUMP-BACKED MEGA EVENT TO BRING ALL 50 STATES TO DC IN WORLD’S FAIR-STYLE BASH

As city fountains turned back on earlier this week, Democrats offered praise to see the city snap back to life. 

“Best thing this administration has done and it’s not even close,”  vice president of liberal think tank, Searchlight Institute, Tré Easton said on X Tuesday.

The Meridian Hill Park fountain reopened at the end of April after repairs to cracks in the walls and a revamped landscape. The 13-basin cascading fountain, one of the longest in North America, had sat dry after the National Park Service closed the park’s lower level for renovations in 2020. 

New fountains in Lafayette Park, located in downtown D.C., were also turned on for the first time.

“Can unequivocally say: all the fountains in the nation’s capital should work and I’m glad the Trump people got this done,” wrote another Democrat strategist on X.

“Credit where credit is due,” Trump critic and Substack author Anthony LaMesa posted to X on Tuesday. “The Trump administration is finally fixing fountains around Washington, DC that have been out of order for many years,” he added.

DEMS UNLOAD ON TRUMP’S LATEST DC UPDATE WITH ‘CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST’ BROADSIDE, LEGAL PUSH

Nine fountains are being rehabilitated and returned to service, while nine other operational fountains set to receive maintenance and system upgrades, according to the National Park Service.

“President Trump’s common sense efforts to make DC safe and beautiful again are so popular that even Democrats are publicly praising the President for these much-needed and long-overdue renovations,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. 

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AT CRITICS CALLING TRUMP’S MASSIVE ARCH ‘TOO BIG’

“Our nation’s capital will look more spectacular than ever before for America’s 250th birthday all thanks to President Trump!” Rogers added in comment to Fox News Digital. 

President Trump requested a $10 billion Presidential Capital Stewardship Program in his 2027 budget. The funds would continue priority construction and rehabilitation projects in the Washington D.C. area.

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Trump has also pursued other high-profile changes tied to his broader vision for remaking the city, including White House renovations, the Trump-Kennedy Center name change and readying plans for installation of the Triumphal Arch — which have drawn Democratic scrutiny as the president’s “vanity” ventures.

The Army announced in a news release earlier this week that it is rolling out a new combat fitness test for frontline troops as leaders push to strengthen battlefield readiness amid ongoing recruiting challenges.

The Combat Field Test (CFT), which is age and gender-neutral, applies to soldiers in combat specialties, is designed to mirror the physical demands of modern warfare and signals a shift toward stricter, role-specific standards as the Army looks to boost readiness across its ranks.

The move comes after the Army missed recruiting targets in recent years, including falling roughly 15,000 soldiers short in 2022, according to U.S. Army Recruiting Command data, as leaders work to rebuild enlistment numbers and overall force strength.

While the service has since rebounded to meet its 2025 targets, leaders continue to work on long-term readiness.

The update follows broader changes to Army fitness standards in recent years.

In 2025, the service announced a new Army Fitness Test to replace the previous Army Combat Fitness Test, after months of data analysis and feedback, with officials saying the changes were designed to improve readiness and emphasize combat effectiveness.

TRUMP IS SENDING A POWERFUL MESSAGE TO OUR ENEMIES — AND ALLIES — WITH THE PENTAGON’S REBRAND

The update comes amid War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broader push to shift the military back to what he calls the “warrior ethos.”

“The Combat Field Test is a critical step forward in ensuring our soldiers serving in the most physically demanding specialties have the specific fitness required to dominate on the modern battlefield,” Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said in a statement Wednesday. “This is about readiness, lethality and the well-being of our soldiers.”

A spokesperson for the Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Soldiers will have 30 minutes to complete seven events with the clock running continuously while wearing the Army Combat Uniform and boots.

ARMY UNVEILS NEW FITNESS TEST WITH TOUGHER STANDARDS — COULD YOU PASS IT?

They must first run one mile, followed by 30 dead-stop push-ups, a 100-meter sprint, 16 lifts of a 40-pound sandbag onto a 65-inch platform and a 50-meter carry of two Army water cans weighing 40 pounds each.

The test then requires soldiers to complete a 50-meter movement drill with a high crawl and a 25-meter three- to five-second rush before a final one-mile run.

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The Army will begin implementing the new test this month, and soldiers will be required to complete it annually.

During the first year of the rollout, soldiers will not face penalties as the Army phases in the new standard, part of a broader effort to prepare troops for the physical demands of modern combat.

Republican congressional candidate and CAL DOGE Director Jenny Rae Le Roux is slamming Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta for failing to crack down on widespread fraud after her watchdog group uncovered multiple cases she says state leaders ignored.

“Every day is opposite day when it comes to Gavin Newsom and Rob Bonta,” Le Roux told Fox News Digital. “Whatever they say, I generally believe the exact opposite is true and so when Gavin Newsom says that fraud is under control, what that means is that either he’s in on it or unwilling to do anything about it.”

“They are either unwilling to do anything or they are not wanting to do it and they’re just trying to spin what they are already doing in that way,” she added.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN SLAMS STATE’S HANDLING OF HOSPICE FRAUD AS SHE LOOKS TO FLIP BLUE SEAT

California has been at the center of the national fraud spotlight in recent months as the Trump administration has sent resources to the state to look into various accusations of fraud ranging from healthcare to homelessness to nonprofit organizations.

The CEO of a California hospice advocacy group told congressional lawmakers Tuesday that fraud in the industry is flourishing across the state, questioning how numerous fraudulent providers can continue to operate under the nose of regulators.

“You’d be amazed at how many hospices… the door you can walk up to in California and there is nobody there. Five months’ worth of mail that you can see stacked… nobody’s there,” Sheila Clark, the president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA), said. “And that passed a survey. How did that happen?”

Le Roux said her group uncovered what she described as “intentional fraud” in Sacramento, alleging funds are being redirected toward “Democrat base-building.” Cal DOGE is a group that works to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in California that was launched in early 2026 by Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton.

The group says it has uncovered almost $700 million in waste, fraud, and abuse since its founding.

“We have been more effective with a group of volunteers in the last 10 weeks than Gavin Newsom and Rob Bonta have since they’ve been in office,” Le Roux said.

She added Bonta’s office wasted resources on legal battles against the Trump administration instead of focusing on fraud patterns that her group identified using artificial intelligence and financial data.

“Rob Bonta’s office billed over 150,000 hours a year going after President Trump and the Trump administration’s policies that equates to almost 200 lawyers times when you extrapolate it out over an entire year, which is one-sixth of his entire office, and larger than the DOJ office that’s actually doing something in California,” she said.

Le Roux, a cousin of Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, launched her campaign in March and is running in the GOP primary for California’s 47th Congressional District with a focus on combating fraud.

“It doesn’t just happen, it’s the normal way of operating, which is why, again, the people who’ve been perpetrating the fraud and leading the charge on it, Newsom and Bonta, can’t be the ones that are actually going to investigate it,” she said.

GOP SHERIFF LEADING CALIFORNIA POLL RIPS NEWSOM’S ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ WITH CRIMINALS

In one example, she said her group uncovered a case where $370 million in cannabis tax revenue was routed through an intermediary and split into smaller grants that went to unrelated programs. She pointed to systemic flaws, including limited federal prosecution for funds “mostly under $1 million.”

“There is no oversight, not one report that is required to explain where the money is spent,” she said.

As a result, she said that a lack of oversight has contributed to an estimated $80 billion annually in “fraud, waste, or gross overpayments,” arguing the problem is systematic.

Amid recent hospice fraud allegations, Le Roux said stronger oversight could have prevented the issue and curbed the fraud. Newsom’s office pushed back, saying enforcement falls to the federal government.

“These hospice agencies that we are now in the process of shutting down were licensed by the state of California,” she said. “They should have never been opened. Every piece of oversight that the state of California should have been administrating had not been happening and so this is a California issue.”

She said her group is pressuring officials to prosecute fraud.

“Newsom is trying to take credit for doing nothing instead of actually becoming a part of reform in our state, which is by the way, what not just Republicans, but independents and Democrats want desperately,” she said.

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However, she emphasized fraud extends beyond California.

“When money flows into California and nothing is checked, that is an American problem, not a California problem,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Newsom and Bonta for comment.

Newsom’s office has responded to critics in general in recent weeks by saying the state is “leading the nation in preventing fraud.”

“Since @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom took office: — $125 billion+ in fraud STOPPED — 1,200+ criminals ARRESTED — 83% reduction in EBT fraud in one year — New hospice licenses BANNED beginning in 2022,” Newsom’s press office posted on X last month.

When shots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, the chaos tore through a ballroom that included a handful of people who had already lived through political violence. 

President Donald Trump was rushed from the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday evening, just as the dinner was kicking off in earnest, after apparent gunshots were heard. Video from inside the event showed attendees taking cover under tables as panic spread through the room.

The moment carried additional weight for several attendees whose lives had already been shaped by political violence, including Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk.

“The people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that [shooters] go after,” Trump said late on Saturday evening from a press conference at the White House. “They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much because they like it that way.” 

COREY COMPERATORE’S WIDOW SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON FINAL MOMENTS WITH HER HUSBAND

Trump, himself, has faced repeated threats on his life. 

There were two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.

“Butler had one weak spot that we all know about. Somebody should have been up there, but even in Butler, we had our sniper on our side. Within 4.2 seconds, from a distance of about 400 yards, one shot, and he was gone,” said Trump.

A second incident unfolded just weeks later, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when a suspect with a rifle was discovered near the golf course while Trump was present. Trump was not injured during that incident. 

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Others in the room have also been shaped by political violence, bringing additional weight to the moment.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), was swiftly escorted out of the room on Saturday, an HHS official told Fox News Digital. His family history is closely tied to two tragic assassinations. 

JFK was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in an open-top motorcade in Dallas, Texas, during a re-election campaign event.

YEARS OF CAMPUS ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS RESURFACE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER

Five years later, the secretary’s father, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was shot after he delivered a victory speech when he won the California Democratic presidential primary. 

He was struck three times, including a fatal shot to the head.

Similarly, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was among four people who were shot on June 14, 2017, at a Republican congressional baseball practice. The gunman, a supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was shot and killed by police.

Scalise was shot in the hip, leaving him critically wounded. He eventually recovered and returned to Congress months later.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the brave members of law enforcement who acted quickly to protect all of us attending tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This is an event meant to bring people together. Violence has NO place in our country,” Scalise posted to X. 

Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk was reportedly seen crying backstage after she ran out of the ballroom following the shots fired. Kirk has also experienced personal tragedy when her husband was assassinated in September 2025 while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Kennedy and Scalise for comment.

Trump hailed law enforcement during his press conference from the White House late on Saturday, saying the situation was “incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement.” 

“[The suspect] had a long way to go. That was really a first line of defense. And they got him. And they really, you know, they acted incredibly,” he continued. 

The suspected gunman, identified as a 31-year-old Cole Allen of California, was taken into custody. 

A shooting near President Donald Trump and several Cabinet members Saturday night is putting a spotlight on the Secret Service’s funding shortfall amid an ongoing standoff in Congress.

A gunman opened fire outside the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where celebrities, members of the press and administration officials had gathered, prompting a swift security response. The suspect is in custody and has not been identified. One Secret Service agent was reportedly shot in their protective vest but is uninjured.

The incident unfolded near a security screening area, prompting a rapid response from Secret Service agents and law enforcement.

The shooting comes amid a more than 60-day funding stalemate in Congress over the Department of Homeland Security — a lapse driven by Democrats blocking funding bills and rejecting multiple GOP-backed proposals to reopen the department.

TRUMP RUSHED AWAY FROM WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER AS SHOTS FIRED

The funding standoff centers on disputes over immigration enforcement policy and has raised concerns about resources for agencies including the Secret Service, FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the president, vice president, their families and other senior U.S. officials, along with visiting heads of state, has faced growing demands in recent years.

The incident adds to a growing list of threats against Trump, including two confirmed assassination attempts and a recent incident involving an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago.

DHS SHUTDOWN LOOMS OVER MAR-A-LAGO SHOOTING AS SECRET SERVICE AGENTS NEUTRALIZE ARMED SUSPECT

Senate Democrats declined to fund DHS through regular appropriations earlier this year following a deadly January incident involving immigration officers, triggering a funding lapse that has now stretched beyond 60 days. Negotiations remain stalled. Democrats are seeking changes to DHS operations, while Republicans are relying on alternative funding to continue enforcement.

Republicans are also considering funding the department for the remainder of Trump’s term through budget reconciliation, the same process used for immigration funding last year.

The shooting also comes as the Secret Service faces increasing pressure during a high-threat election cycle.

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Last week, Secret Service Director Sean Curran warned lawmakers the agency is not adequately staffed to handle the demands of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and the 2028 presidential cycle, underscoring mounting concerns about staffing and resources.

As more details emerge from the investigation into this latest shooting, questions continue to mount over whether the Secret Service has the resources needed to handle an increasingly complex threat environment.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the Washington Hilton ballroom Saturday night at the start of the White House Correspondents Dinner as shots rang out. 

Trump was swiftly whisked away amid the chaos and reported that he and the first lady, and his Cabinet members are safe on Truth Social.

More than 40 years ago, the Washington Hilton was the site of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981 — a striking historical parallel as Trump was rushed from the same hotel Saturday night after gunfire erupted. It remains unclear if Trump was targeted in the chaos on Saturday evening. 

John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at Reagan after he delivered remarks to members of the AFL-CIO. One of the bullets ricocheted off the presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest.

Secret Service agents pushed Reagan into a car and was quickly rushed to the George Washington University Hospital. He was famously known for being in good humor when he was about to undergo treatment.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: SECRET SERVICE KNEW AIRSPACE PROTECTION WOULD END WITH FORMER PRESIDENT ONSTAGE

Three other people were also hit, including press secretary James Brady, a police officer and a Secret Service agent. 

Brady was shot in the eye and suffered brain damage. He ultimately died in 2014, and law enforcement officials ruled his death a homicide due to its connection to the 1981 shooting.

The hotel has since been dubbed by locals as the “Hinckley Hilton.”

Hinckley was acquitted of attempting to assassinate the president as a result of an insanity defense. His attorneys pointed to his narcissistic personality disorder and referenced his obsession with the movie “Taxi Driver” and actress Jodie Foster as the inspiration for the attack.

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President Trump returned to the White House and is set to deliver a statement in the White House Briefing Room.

President Donald Trump was rushed backstage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner before delivering his scheduled remarks amid a reported shooting incident, but the event is expected to continue.

Trump has not left the building and is expected to return to the stage, Fox News has learned. 

The president’s security detail told Fox News that someone had tried to pass through the Washington Hilton’s magnetometers with a gun and the counter-assault team neutralized the threat. Secret Service worked to determine whether there were any other threats and determined there were not, Fox News learned. 

FLASHBACK: OBAMA TRIED TO MAKE TRUMP A PUNCHLINE AT 2011 DINNER BEFORE RISE STUNNED WASHINGTON 

Attendees reported hearing shouting, shots fired and several people took cover under tables as Secret Service agents escorted the president, the first lady, Cabinet secretaries and others at the head table out of the room.

Secret Service agents moved into position at the head table with weapons drawn as they scanned the room.

Protesters had gathered outside the Washington Hilton earlier in the evening, though it is unclear whether the two events are connected.

“I was really concerned. I heard shots and everyone jumped down.” Fox News’ Bret Baie, who attended the dinner, said. “Within seconds the place was filled with Secret Service agents, guns drawn

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Trump was seen being quickly escorted out of the room by security and White House officials tell Fox News Digital both he, the First Lady and Karoline Leavitt are safe at this time.

The incident marked the first violent disruption of the dinner that dates back more than a century. 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

Fox News Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

King Charles III will meet with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani during his state visit to the U.S. next week, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Saturday.

The king and the mayor will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in New York City on Wednesday.

The meeting will come after the king is greeted by President Donald Trump at the White House after he arrives in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

The king and Queen Camilla will join the president and first lady Melania Trump for a private tea at the White House soon after landing at Joint Base Andrews and receiving a military arrival ceremony.

KING CHARLES’ ‘HIGH STAKES’ US VISIT TESTS HISTORIC ALLIANCE COULD SHAPE HIS REIGN: EXPERTS

On Tuesday the king and the president will hold a bilateral meeting and Charles is also expected to address Congress, the first British monarch to do so since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991.

The evening will end with a state dinner at the White House before the king and queen leave for New York on Wednesday.

“The Mayor will not meet privately with King Charles,” Mamdani’s press secretary Joe Calvello told Fox News Digital. “He was invited to join a number of New York elected officials next week at a wreath laying at the 9/11 memorial with members of the British royal family.”

CANADIAN PM CARNEY TO MEET TRUMP AT WHITE HOUSE AFTER ELECTION INFLUENCED BY ANNEXATION THREATS

Sixty-seven British citizens were killed on 9/11.

The king will leave for his last stop, Virginia, on Thursday, where he’ll meet with indigenous and Appalachian cultural groups and attend a block party celebrating 250 years of American independence.

KING CHARLES TO VISIT US IN LANDMARK TRIP MARKING AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY

On Thursday, Trump told a BBC reporter he believes the king’s visit will “absolutely” ease current tensions between the U.S. and the U.K. that escalated over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s reluctance to join Trump’s military action in Iran.

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“I know him well, I’ve known him for years. ⁠He’s ​a brave man, and he’s a ​great man,” Trump told the BBC, adding that his and Camilla’s visit will “absolutely be a positive.”

Trump made his last state visit to Britain in September, which included a state dinner at Windsor Castle.

CVS is disputing a Planned Parenthood claim of a “strategic partnership” on abortion pill access, as the organization’s website no longer includes language that previously referenced such a relationship.

“The team that manages our Reproductive Health program is unaware of anything related to that organization beyond standard abortifacient dispensing for individuals with prescriptions,” a CVS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The company added that it “do[es] not have a formal partnership with Planned Parenthood of Greater New York beyond filling prescriptions.”

CVS added it did not indicate any agreement or coordination with Planned Parenthood beyond dispensing legally prescribed medication.

ABORTION PILL MIFEPRISTONE STAYS AVAILABLE BY MAIL FOR NOW AS FDA FACES 6-MONTH REVIEW DEADLINE

“There’s a little bit of mystery here,” Shawn Carney, president of 40 Days for Life, told Fox News Digital.

“CVS is for sure downplaying their role,” he added. “They say they’re just distributing abortion pills — that’s exactly what Planned Parenthood wants them to do.”

But Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s annual report previously described a “strategic partnership with CVS,” stating that patients can “pick up the abortion pill from their local pharmacies.” That language was removed from the report as of April 24, 2026.

SUPREME COURT DIVIDED OVER STATE EFFORT TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD

“Through our strategic partnership with CVS, patients can now pick up the abortion pill from their local pharmacies, allowing them to experience abortion care, with the supportive guidance of our expert clinicians, in the comfort of their homes,” the report previously stated.

The report also stated that patients can pick up medication abortion prescriptions at CVS pharmacies.

Carney said he believes the arrangement would mark a first of its kind.

“This would make CVS the first publicly traded company in the United States to distribute abortion pills,” he said.

CVS maintains its role is limited to standard prescription dispensing, where permitted.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ATTACKS HAWLEY EFFORT TO STRIP FDA APPROVAL OF MIFEPRISTONE

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, however, did not directly address its use of the term “strategic partnership.”

“PPGNY makes strategic decisions about its operations and its association with various companies, partners, and organizations,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We are happy our patients are able to fill their abortion pill prescriptions at local pharmacies, including CVS, which expands access to critical health care.”

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York’s report appears to have been updated between April 23 and April 24, 2026. 

Fox News Digital contacted the organization for comment during that same timeframe. A version of the report viewed by Fox News Digital on April 23 described a ‘strategic partnership with CVS,’ while the current version, as of April 24, no longer includes that language.

The organization did not address the change in its statement.

Medication abortion, which typically involves a two-drug regimen, has increasingly been offered via telehealth in recent years after the FDA expanded access around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mifepristone also remains under federal scrutiny. 

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The FDA said as of April 2026 that it was conducting a safety study on the drug and had received reports of serious adverse events, including deaths, in patients associated with mifepristone while also saying those events cannot be definitively attributed to the drug.

“Nobody wants to go to their CVS and buy a Snickers bar and buy their milk and think, ‘oh, they’re distributing abortion pills through the drive-thru,’” Carney told Fox News Digital. “That’s not what we want.”

Planned Parenthood reported performing 19,673 medication abortions in its most recent fiscal year.

A day after U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced she had directed her office to close its investigation into the Federal Reserve over a building project, President Donald Trump said he wants to know what happened.

“Well, I want to find out,” the president told reporters before boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Saturday, after a journalist asked if he agreed with Pirro’s decision.

“You know, it’s not dropped,” he continued. “They’re looking into the whole thing about the crisis. What I want, with the IG, what I want to look at is how can a building that I could have done for $25 million cost $4 billion? That’s a big thing.”

Trump also mentioned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying, “he was in charge.”

TRUMP ADMIN URGES RESTORING BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION IN EMERGENCY MOTION: ‘TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE’

“So we’ll get to the bottom of it,” he added. “Yeah, I think Jeanine is fantastic. And she worked with other people on that. I tell you, I want to find out, I have an obligation to find that — this was done during Biden, but I have an obligation to find out how does it — I would have done that building for $25 million and had money left over. And it would have been open a long time ago.”

The Fed had an approved budget of $2.46 billion for the renovations, but went over budget because of things like more asbestos than expected and costs going up during the course of the renovation, the Fed says on its website.

Pirro said Friday the Fed’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, would take over the investigation, moving it from the hands of federal prosecutors into those of a longtime government watchdog.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S FEDERAL RESERVE HQ PROBE ESCALATES WITH UNANNOUNCED SITE VISIT BY PROSECUTORS

Powell was under investigation over statements he made to Congress related to the management of the renovation costs.

Powell revealed in a video announcement in January that the Department of Justice had opened an investigation into the Fed, calling it an unprecedented attempt to use “intimidation” to force him to lower interest rates.

In the lead-up to the investigation, Trump and Powell’s relationship had grown increasingly rocky, as Trump became frustrated over interest rates and began targeting Powell, whom he nominated in 2017. Trump called Powell a “fool” and demanded in March that he drop rates “immediately.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has a background in finance and sits on the Senate Banking Committee, had vowed to block Kevin Warsh’s confirmation because of the DOJ’s investigation, after Trump nominated Warsh to replace Powell, whose term was set to expire on May 15.

Tillis had claimed the DOJ’s investigation was political and would improperly interfere with markets, and he accused Pirro of seeking “brownie points” with Trump by opening it. “It’s not cute,” Tillis said during a television interview in February.

During his confirmation hearing this week, Tillis told Warsh, who previously served on the Fed’s Board of Governors, that he had “extraordinary credentials” but that he could not vote to advance his nomination in the Senate until the DOJ ended its investigation.

Horowitz, who will now investigate the Fed building renovation costs, has drawn a mix of praise and criticism from Republicans while serving as DOJ inspector general for more than a decade. He was one of the few high-profile inspectors general spared during Trump’s historic cull of government watchdogs last year and has found allyship in key figures like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Pirro closing the investigation could pave the way for Warsh’s nomination.

Trump said he wanted to see the investigation through “for the country.”

“It’s much tougher, much more expensive to build a hotel than an office,” the president said, mentioning his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., that he sold in 2022 and was renamed the Waldorf Astoria.

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He continued, “I want to find out how can a building of that size cost for whatever it’s going to be. Nobody knows, by the way, what it’s going to be. Kevin is going to be fantastic. Kevin Warsh, he may never get to be in that building.”

Trump told reporters that his nomination should now going smoothly, “but whether it is or not, somebody has to find out why that building that should have cost $25 million is costing billions of dollars. And you know why they have to find it out? For other buildings, because that’s not the only one. I think that’s the most egregious example.”

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump revealed to Fox News on Saturday that he unilaterally canceled U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s planned trip to Pakistan for talks with Iran. 

The president said in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie that it’s not worth the U.S. delegation making the 18-hour flight to Pakistan when the U.S. holds all the cards in the conflict with Iran. 

“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’,” Trump said. 

“And I canceled the trip, and I said, anytime they want to phone us, we’re ready, willing and able, but we’re not going to waste a lot of time,” Trump told Fox News.

LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP CANCELS US TRIP TO PAKISTAN FOR IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

Then in a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran is suffering from “tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’” 

“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” Trump wrote. 

U.S. special envoy Witkoff and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, were supposed to travel to Pakistan this weekend for the second round of U.S.-Iran negotiations during Operation Epic Fury.

US TURNS TO DRONES AFTER RETIRING MINESWEEPERS TO REOPEN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Prior to the cancellation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that “We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days” regarding a potential deal to end the conflict. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday to meet with Pakistan’s prime minister.

“Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value,” he said on X following the trip.   

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“Shared Iran’s position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” he added. 

Vice President JD Vance was supposed to travel to Pakistan earlier this week for a second round of talks, but he was called back to the White House for meetings, and the trip was postponed indefinitely.

Vance, Witkoff and Kushner were in Pakistan earlier this month for the first round of talks with the Iranian, but no deal was reached after their in-person meeting.

As redistricting battles are reaching a boiling point, Democrats said President Donald Trump “started this” while defending their own party’s response ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“Donald Trump started this battle, and if people thought Democrats were going to sit on their hands while this happened, that was not the case,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said. “We’re going to fight back.”

“Democrats did not want this,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., added.

On Tuesday night, Virginia voters narrowly passed a congressional redistricting referendum backed by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, securing a victory for Democrats and shifting momentum in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives.

NEWSOM TURNS VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING VICTORY INTO WARNING SHOT FOR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Virginia referendum, which comes after Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-controlled states, could give Democrats four more House seats.

“It all starts with Donald Trump asking Gov. Abbott to do an unusual mid-decade redistricting,” Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said.

Aguilar said that President Trump’s push in Texas may have sparked the nationwide map fights, but “Democrats and the American people are going to end it.”

“Republicans engaged in redistricting discussions in Indiana and in Kansas and in all these other places. It’s incredibly frustrating,” Aguilar said. “Republicans started this fight, but Democrats and the American people are going to end it.”

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., called the move “a grab by the president.”

BETO ENCOURAGES DEMOCRATS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’ IN TEXAS REDISTRICTING BATTLE

“Mr. Trump said in Texas he was owed five seats, and that’s what triggered redistricting with no transparency,” Dean said. “Just a grab by the president.”

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said states following Trump’s lead are “doing the bidding” of the president and escalating the fight.

“I think that Trump started a slippery slope that we’re sliding down,” Johnson said. “Democrats have to match the overreach of complicit Republicans doing the bidding of Donald Trump.”

Democrats justified their response as a strategic “play.”

“What Democrats have done is just play defense,” Takano said. “We’re not going to roll over and just allow this to happen.”

Some Democrats said they had no choice but to join the gerrymandering efforts. Both parties hope to win the House using this strategy.

“No one should be interfering with the democratic process, but Mr. Trump was the one who initiated it,” Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., said.

TRUMP FORCES INDIANA GOP INTO REDISTRICTING REVERSAL IN RACE TO DRAW NEW MAGA MAP

Johnson said he believes gerrymandering goes beyond politics and could also impact voter representation.

“Partisan gerrymandering is a fig leaf for what’s really happening, which is the racialized redistricting meant to make America great again by excluding Black folks from being able to elect the representatives of their choice, Black and brown people,” he said.

One Democrat suggested redistricting could wind down soon.

“I think we may have seen the end of any viable redistricting right now before the election,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said.

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However, Takano said Democrats would not back down.

“You can’t bring a knife to a gunfight and say, ‘Hey, Republicans can just change districts mid-decade without a response,’” he said.

President Donald Trump will attend the White House Correspondents‘ Dinner on Saturday, marking his first appearance at the annual event as commander in chief after skipping it throughout his first term.

The decision puts Trump back at a Washington ritual long tied to his fraught relationship with the press and political establishment. His return also revives memories of the 2011 dinner, when then-President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers mocked him from the dais at a moment that later became a widely discussed part of Trump’s political story.

“Donald Trump is here tonight,” Obama said at the 2011 dinner. “Now, I know he’s taken some flak lately, but no one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than The Donald.”

HOLLYWOOD TAKES SHOTS AT TRUMP WHILE CELEBRATING CONAN O’BRIEN AMID KENNEDY CENTER SHAKE-UP

“And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter — like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?” he continued. Trump had publicly called for the release of Obama’s birth certificate, which the State of Hawaii did release that year. 

The exchange underscored longstanding tensions between Trump and the Washington establishment that predated his entry into politics. 

Speculation mounted that the jabs helped fuel Trump’s eventual decision to launch a presidential run, culminating in a stunning upset victory in 2016. Trump had denied that Obama’s 2011 jokes prompted his candidacy, telling The Washington Post in 2016 that “there are many reasons I’m running, but that’s not one of them.” 

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP RECEIVES THE ‘PATRIOT OF THE YEAR’ AWARD AT FOX NATION’S PATRIOT AWARDS

“Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he’d be running as a joke,” comedian Seth Meyers added when he took the podium that night.

Trump told Fox News’ “The Five” earlier this year he was treated “rudely and crudely” during the dinner, which he said influenced his decision not to attend while he was first in office.

“The press was so nasty, I just – so I didn’t do it,” said Trump.

TRUMP SAYS TRANSGENDER BATHROOM DEBATE LESS IMPORTANT THAN OTHER ISSUES

He once again denied it was the 2011 dinner that sparked his interest in running for office.

“There is this theory: I was there while Barack Hussein Obama was speaking, and he was hitting me a little bit. Actually, it was very nice, and I was actually – I loved it. I really loved it,” said Trump.

WHCA PRESIDENT OPENS DINNER HIGHLIGHTING TRUMP’S ABSENCE AND ‘EXTREMELY DIFFICULT’ YEAR FOR THE PRESS

Trump announced he would attend this year’s dinner as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. The first lady will join him.

“The White House Correspondents Association very nicely asked the President to join them at their annual dinner this year as the Honoree, which he gladly accepted,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle previously told Fox News Digital.

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Trump did not attend during his first term due to a contentious relationship with the media at the height of coverage of the Russia investigation.

The banquet was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and revived in 2022 during President Biden’s administration. Trump also did not attend last year.

President Trump is attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday for the first time as commander-in-chief — after boycotting the annual event last year and each year during his first term.

The dinner will take place on Saturday, April 25, at the Washington Hilton.

“The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge,” Trump posted on his Truth Social last month, adding that it would be his “Honor to accept their invitation.” 

TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER MARKS A POLITICAL JOURNEY COMING FULL CIRCLE 

The White House Correspondents’ Association’s president, Weijia Jiang said that they were “happy” with the president’s decision to attend.

“For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president,” Jiang said in a statement last month. “We’re happy the president has accepted our invitation and look forward to hosting him.”

DAN RATHER AMONG 200 JOURNALISTS DEMANDING TRUMP BE CALLED OUT AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER

The president had skipped the event in years past, saying that decision was due to the press being “extraordinarily bad” to him.

Despite the annual invitation and Trump’s acceptance, hundreds of journalists are going after the president, having signed an open letter urging the White House Correspondents’ Association to call out the president and “forcefully demonstrate opposition” to his “efforts to trample freedom of the press.”

“The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press… render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose,” the open letter reads.

“The collective weight of the administration’s actions — retaliatory access bans, coercive regulatory investigations, frivolous lawsuits against the press, defunding of public broadcasting, dismantling of international broadcasting, physical restrictions on journalists, personal verbal attacks on reporters, assaults on the media in official White House press releases and social media posts, the arrest of journalists, and the pardoning of those who committed violence against the press — represent the most systematic and comprehensive assault on freedom of the press by a sitting American president.”

TRUMP ACCEPTS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION DINNER INVITATION FOR THE FIRST TIME AS PRESIDENT

Notable signatories on the letter are former CBS News anchor Dan Rather, former ABC News White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, former NBC News anchor Ann Curry and PBS NewsHour correspondent Stephanie Sy.

A spokesperson for the White House simply pointed to Trump’s Truth Social post announcing he was attending the dinner when previously asked about the open letter. 

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Trump did attend the event as a private citizen in 2011 during the Obama administration. Then-President Barack Obama made a joke about Trump during that event saying: “Say what you will about Mr. Trump, he certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there.”

Obama then featured an image of the White House with a neon sign that said “Trump White House Hotel Casino Golf Course” with gold columns and a chandelier.

But during his second term, Trump has actually taken to remodeling the White House— with a new ballroom under construction and his addition of gold molding to the Oval Office.

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Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report. 

Washington, D.C.’s homicide count has dropped sharply this year, falling by roughly half compared to the same period in 2025, as the Trump administration points to an aggressive federal crackdown in the nation’s capital.

The administration has credited the appointment of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a surge of federal agents and the deployment of National Guard troops with driving the decline. But criminologists say similar drops are playing out nationwide and caution that it is difficult to tie the improvement to any single policy, setting up a debate over what is actually behind the shift.

There have been 20 murders at this point in 2026, compared to 42 in the same timeframe in 2025, alongside Pirro’s tough enforcement posture and an increased visible law enforcement presence. The nation’s murder rate overall is at its lowest since 1900, which President Donald Trump has credited to his border policies.

As for D.C., the White House said that Trump’s crime task force has yielded “tremendous results for the community.”

SCOOP: WHITE HOUSE TOUTS GUNS AND DRUG HAUL REMOVED FROM DC STREETS AS TRUMP’S CRIME BLITZ NETS 550 ARRESTS

“Crime has dropped across the board, dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets, missing children have been recovered, illegal weapons have been confiscated, and more,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, crediting the president’s “bold actions in D.C.” for reducing crime and saying “residents are thankful.”

But Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and a criminology professor at Georgia State University, said it is difficult to attribute the decline to any single factor.

“Crackdowns can have an effect,” Johnson said in an interview, though he noted that Washington, D.C., has struggled with court backlogs and delayed cases in recent years, which may have contributed to higher crime rates. He said recent progress in clearing the backlog has allowed prosecutions to move forward and taken offenders off the streets.

‘RESISTANCE’ LEFT BLASTED BY WASHINGTON POST AS MAYOR BOWSER BACKS TRUMP’S DC CRIME PLAN

Johnson acknowledged that aggressive prosecutions by Pirro and others have likely deterred some crime.

“If you’re prosecuting cases, you know that the deterrence is not only the severity of punishment, but it’s the celerity or the swiftness of punishment and the certainty of it — the certainty of punishment is more important than the severity.”

He emphasized that he is not discounting Pirro or the National Guard deployment, but said it is difficult to identify any single action as a “magic bullet,” particularly as other cities across the country are also seeing declines.

Johnson added that Washington was still grappling with elevated robbery rates as recently as 2024, including incidents occurring outside traditionally high-crime areas in Southeast and shifting into neighborhoods such as the Wharf and Navy Yard, a revitalized nightlife corridor across the Anacostia River.

“I haven’t seen anything per se, evidence directly, where I can say, ‘well, yeah, it’s due to the prosecutions and the judges’ as to why these crimes are going down when we started seeing that many of the crimes had started going down already,” he said.

“It’s hard to say that it didn’t play a part … particularly when we see similar patterns across the nation.”

TRUMP’S DC PUBLIC SAFETY SWEEP RESULTS IN 23 ARRESTS INCLUDING MURDER SUSPECT ON OPENING DAY

The White House’s claims of success in reducing crime in Washington contrast with earlier warnings from critics that the National Guard deployment would backfire.

District of Columbia at-large Councilmember Robert White Jr. warned at the outset that it is abnormal to see armed guardsmen in an American city:

“It’s hard to explain to my kids, who are 6 and 9, what’s happening here. It’s an occupation because it’s both unwelcome and unwarranted. It’s also unhelpful. But I don’t think it’s meant to be helpful in any way,” White told Governing News in September.

The Democrat added local officials “have an obligation to be clear that this is going to make crime worse in the coming years.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from adjacent Takoma Park, Maryland, similarly predicted the surge was a bad idea:

“No one in Washington is asking Trump to deploy the National Guard or take over the MPD. This is a phony, manufactured crisis if I’ve ever seen one,” Raskin said in August. “Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly undermined public safety in our nation’s capital.”

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also said last fall that Trump was acting like a “wannabe king” whose “unleash[ing of] the national guard on the city’s youth and homeless population has no basis in law and will put the safety of the people of our nation’s capital in danger.”

Fox News’ Elise Oggioni contributed to this report.