Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

White House to Review Security After Shooting, Slams DHS Shutdown


(MENAFN) The White House announced on Monday that it will hold a high-level security meeting later this week after a shooting incident disrupted the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

Officials also strongly condemned the recent two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), describing it as a “national scandal.”

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, senior officials will gather to reassess security arrangements and ensure protection for the president. She said:
“I understand there will be a meeting early this week, convened by the White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, with top DHS leadership, members of the United States Secret Service and our own operations team here to ensure the safety and the security of the President.”

Leavitt also criticized what she described as inadequate attention to funding for the agency, adding:
“Make no mistake, this defunding of DHS should be a national scandal.”

She further argued that political responses would be different depending on party lines, saying:
“If Republicans defunded DHS and we saw another attempted assassination on a Democrat president, I would hope that the media coverage would be relentless and unforgiving.”

The annual dinner, held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, was briefly thrown into chaos after a suspected gunman prompted a security alert. Authorities quickly evacuated the venue, and officials later confirmed that everyone in attendance was safe.

Reflecting on the moment, Leavitt described how quickly the situation unfolded:
“I can tell you, it was seconds before we were told to get down, and it was seconds before we found ourselves in the holdroom backstage. It all happened literally within a matter of seconds.”

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