Ex Secret Service agent says Trump should have fewer cabinet members at events in wake of DC shooting

A former Secret Service agent says President Donald Trump should consider having fewer Cabinet members at big events after a shooting broke out at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C.

The president and first lady were evacuated from the event Saturday night after authorities say a shooter rushed security armed with a shotgun and other weapons. He shot one Secret Service officer before being detained. The suspect has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen.

“Do we need to rethink the idea that we’d have a dozen people in the line of the presidential succession in one room?” NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt asked former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald on The Hill Sunday.

“Yeah, I think your point is spot on, Chris,” said McDonald, who spent more than two decades protecting previous presidents. “This is something that we probably need to be looking at going forward.”

Several Cabinet members, including Attorney General Todd Blanche and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were at the event, as were others in line for presidential succession, including Vice President J.D. Vance.

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“President Trump does seem to have a lot of Cabinet members in and around events that he does,” McDonald said. “And I don’t seem to remember that with other presidents that I’ve been with, with the number of Cabinet members that are at various events.”

“So, that is something that probably the Secret Service may want to generate some discussions with the Trump administration to see how we can potentially alleviate that kind of exposure and those kinds of issues,” McDonald added.

Gunshots were fired inside the Washington Hilton just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday, with the black-tie WHCA event underway, Secret Service agents rushed Trump and other cabinet officials to safety while journalists and politicians took cover under tables.

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Allen was detained after Secret Service agent was shot and injured. He will be charged on two counts: use of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

He is set to be arraigned Monday afternoon in federal court. If convicted of both counts, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile, McDonald said he thought that the Secret Service did a great job responding to the shooting.

“Nobody got hurt other than the officer who took a bullet to his bulletproof vest, other than perhaps a twisted ankle or a couple of skinned knees,” he said. “Everybody seems to be okay, and that’s the bottom line.”

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