What's happening during White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend 2026
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The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner weekend is back and busier than ever this year, with new outlets, companies and political powerbrokers looking to make further inroads in Washington.
Why it matters: The dinner hasn't seen this much momentum since the Obama era.
Zoom in: President Trump will attend this year's event for the first time as a sitting commander in chief.
- The WHCA has hired mentalist Oz Pearlman as the evening's entertainer, instead of a comedian.
- The dinner's headliner last year, comedian Amber Ruffin, was dropped a month before the event following pushback from Trump allies.
Between the lines: Administration officials are expected to have a much bigger presence at parties and events this year — prompting more corporate interest and sponsorships.
- Companies like Boeing, Amazon and Meta will support various events.
New to the party scene this year is MS Now, which has officially split from NBCUniversal and NBC News.
- MS Now will host an after-dinner party competing with NBC News on Saturday night at Dupont Underground, an arts venue in a former trolley station.
- MAGA moguls will host a party Friday night at the glitzy Executive Branch club in Georgetown that charges a $500,000 membership fee. Nelly is the featured performing artist.
- Grindr will host a party as well on Friday night, marking its WHCD debut.
Fun fact: Nine events this year are being hosted by media startups less than 10 years old: Punchbowl News, Axios, Semafor, Beehiiv, Substack, Puck, Status, NOTUS and Crooked Media.
- Their ascent to the Washington political scene shows how the D.C. market has grown more lucrative and competitive over the past decade.
Of note: The Washington Post, which has in the past hosted a cocktail reception before the dinner and last year hosted a lavish brunch reception on Sunday, does not appear to be hosting any events this year.
- A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Axios about its plans.
What to watch: The WHCA each year presents awards for outstanding White House coverage at the dinner.
- This year's winners are the Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey, the Associated Press' Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller, CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Getty Images' Andrew Harnik, the New York Times' Tyler Pager and KARE 11 Minneapolis.
- Notably, the WHCA awarded the Wall Street Journal the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for its story describing a "bawdy" birthday letter bearing the president's name that was reportedly given to Jeffrey Epstein.
- A federal judge on Monday tossed President Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Journal over that story.
Below is the full calendar of confirmed events so far.
Wednesday, April 22
- Event: A Toast to Press Freedom
- Host: Washington Association of Black Journalists
- Location: National Association of Broadcasters
- Time: 6–9pm
Thursday, April 23
- Event: 13th annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards Ceremony
- Host: Story Partners, Washingtonian
- Location: Larz Anderson House
- Time: 6–8pm
- Event: Courageous Voices in Journalism Reception
- Host: International Women's Media Foundation and Embassy of Sweden
- Location: Embassy of Sweden
- Time: 4–6pm
- Event: NBC News presents Common Ground
- Host: NBCU, Comcast
- Location: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center
- Time: 4–6pm
- Event: Crooked Media Pre-WHCD Party
- Host: Crooked Media
- Location: Venue details provided to confirmed attendees
- Time: 5:30–8pm
- Event: Status Party
- Host: Oliver Darcy
- Location: 610 Water St SW
- Time: 8–11pm
Friday, April 24
- Event: Axios Live's annual WHCD weekend kickoff brunch
- Host: Axios
- Location: Venue details provided to confirmed attendees
- Time: 9–11:30am
- Event: Punchbowl News WHCD Weekend Kickoff Event
- Host: Punchbowl News
- Location: Venue details provided to confirmed attendees
- Time: 12–2:30pm
- Event: Beehiiv and Shinola's "Celebration of Journalism"
- Host: Beehiiv and Shinola
- Location: Shinola Logan Circle
- Time: 5–7pm
- Event: Semafor House Party
- Host: Semafor
- Location: Private residence of Justin B. Smith
- Time: 8–10:30pm
- Event: Executive Branch Party
- Host: Executive Branch
- Location: Executive Branch Club
- Time: 8–10:30pm
- Event: CAA's White House Correspondents' Dinner Kickoff Party
- Host: CAA and Vanity Fair
- Location: Residence of the Belgian Ambassador
- Time: 7:30–10:30pm
- Event: UTA's Celebration of American Journalists Party
- Host: UTA
- Location: Osteria Mozza
- Time: 9pm–1am
- Event: Brunswick and Daily Mail Reception
- Host: Brunswick and Daily Mail
- Location: The British Ambassador's Residence
- Time: 7–10pm
- Event: Grindr Inaugural WHCD Party
- Host: Grindr
- Location: Venue details provided to confirmed attendees
- Time: 6–8pm
- Event: Washingtonian/Embassy of Qatar VIP Soirée
- Host: His Excellency Ambassador Meshal Al Thani, and Cathy Merrill, CEO of Washingtonian
- Location: Four Seasons
- Time: 8–11pm
- Event: Motion Picture Association and America250 White House Correspondents' Reception
- Host: Motion Picture Association, America250
- Location: MPA headquarters
- Time: 5:30–8pm
- Event: The Creative Coalition
- Host: The Creative Coalition
- Location: PubKey
- Time: 7:30–10pm
Saturday, April 25
- Event: Annual White House Correspondents' Weekend Garden Brunch
- Host: Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, Mark and Sally Ein, David Urban, Franco Nuschese and Jon Banner
- Location: Beall-Washington House
- Time: 11am–2pm
- Event: Puck Penthouse Pre-Party
- Host: Puck
- Location: The Hepburn Rooftop
- Time: 5:30–7:30pm
- Event: CBS News and Politico Pre-Dinner Party
- Host: CBS News and Politico
- Location: Washington Hilton
- Time: 6–9pm
- Event: The WSJ Reception
- Host: WSJ
- Location: Washington Hilton
- Time: 5:30–7pm
- Event: ABC News White House Correspondents' Pre-Dinner Reception
- Host: ABC News
- Location: Washington Hilton
- Time: 5:30–9pm
Saturday, April 25 (dinner and post-dinner)
- Event: The New Media Party
- Host: Substack
- Location: Renwick Gallery
- Time: 8–11pm
- Event: MS Now's Democracy After Hours — The Underground After Party
- Host: MS Now
- Location: Dupont Underground
- Time: 11:30pm-–2am
- Event: The After Party
- Host: NBC News
- Location: The Residence of the Ambassador of France to the U.S.
- Time: 11:30pm–2am
- Event: Swiss Ambassador's White House Correspondents' Dinner After-Party
- Host: Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner and TIME
- Location: Swiss Ambassador's residence
- Time: 11pm
Sunday, April 26
- Event: NOTUS and Politico Brunch
- Host: Allbritton Journalism Institute, Robert and Elena Allbritton
- Location: Home of Robert Allbritton
- Time: 11am–2pm
- Event: CNN's WHCD Weekend Finale Reception
- Host: CNN
- Location: Venue details provided to confirmed attendees
- Time: 12:30–3:30pm
