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What happened to 2,600 unserved steak and lobster dinners after WHCA shooting?

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by Max Rego - 04/27/26 5:21 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/27/26 5:21 PM ET

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Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), said Monday that the Washington Hilton donated roughly 2,600 meals that went unserved after the association’s annual dinner was cut short Saturday by a gunman.

Jiang wrote on the social platform X that hotel staff “freeze dried the steak and lobster for longer shelf life before giving them to 2 shelters for abused women and children.”

Jiang, a senior White House correspondent for CBS News, also issued a “HUGE thank you to the staff that worked through the night under terrible circumstances.”

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for the Washington Hilton for comment.

The shooting occurred shortly after the salad course, when an armed man charged a security checkpoint one floor above the ballroom where President Trump, administration officials, members of Congress and journalists were gathered.

The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Allen, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate Trump, transporting a firearm or ammunition in interstate commerce with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Allen allegedly was targeting White House officials “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to a manifesto that an administration official confirmed to The Hill was written by the alleged gunman. In those writings, he calls himself a “Friendly Federal Assassin.”

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, also told reporters Monday that Allen would face a fourth charge of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. During the shootout, a Secret Service officer was struck but was saved by their bulletproof vest.

The suspect did not enter a plea. He is due back in court Thursday for a detention hearing, while his preliminary hearing was set for May 11 — unless a grand jury returns an indictment before then.

As for whether the dinner will be rescheduled, Jiang said in a Sunday statement that the WHCA board “will be meeting to assess what happened and determine how to proceed” and will “provide updates as soon as they are available.”

Trump, meanwhile, told reporters Saturday that he wanted the dinner to be rescheduled for within 30 days.

Ella Lee, Sarakshi Rai and Zach Schonfeld contributed.

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