For decades, the White House Correspondents' Dinner has been a treasured tradition, uniting the press and politicians under one roof at the storied Washington Hilton. Now, the future of that ritual is in question, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

• Why it matters: Last night's intruder will force security officials and the White House Correspondents' Association to reconsider whether it's safe to host the dinner again in that venue, and how the event may need to evolve.

🎤 President Trump said last night that the dinner will be held again within 30 days. Media executives Axios spoke with are skeptical that it'll be staged exactly the same way.

• Hundreds of corporate executives, diplomats and even celebrities fly in for the event, many with their own security teams and protocols.
• The event requires months of planning for attendees, journalists and administration officials, let alone police and the Secret Service.

🔎 Zoom in: The dinner, which takes place in the basement ballroom at the Washington Hilton — the same hotel where President Reagan was shot in 1981 — seats 2,000-plus people at nearly 260 tables.

• Those tables are packed so closely that it can be tough to even get out to walk to the restrooms.

After the attack, the Secret Service leaped on tables, across fallen chairs — even over guests — as they yanked Cabinet members from the room.

How it works: Various news organizations host pre-parties at the Hilton that include guests not attending the dinner. So there were likely hundreds more people in the hotel — in close proximity to dozens of officials and CEOs — who weren't even attending the dinner.

🏛️ The big picture: Since 9/11, government buildings have become much less accessible to the public. But many big public establishments, including the Washington Hilton, remain easy to enter.

The bottom line: The dinner this year was supposed to represent a rare moment of bonding between the administration and the press. It became a wake-up call about security risks that could upend the tradition.

Dispatches from Axios journalists in the ballroom:

Kate Marino, Axios executive editor ... As I crouched under my chair, I felt a mix of helplessness and the resignation that now it was our turn to experience the threat of mass violence that has become so familiar across America.

• I got an up-close view of the Secret Service in action, since a Cabinet member was seated just 2 feet from me. Several agents charged toward him, shouting for diners to move — leaping across chairs, surrounding him, whisking him away.

Hans Nichols, Axios political reporter ... First instinct: self-preservation. Second: manners. Third: reporting.

• My colleague Barak Ravid, as usual, was first, posting on X in Hebrew. We massaged his lead (Was the president whisked or evacuated? Hastily evacuated?). Then our boss, Kate Marino, handed me a phone with one of our calmest editors, Dave Lawler, on the line. We began dictating. Get it out. We can update. Don't assume.
• Then we started working the room. Did you hear shots? How many? How sure are you? A friendly diner shared his video of what happened on the dais — from a vantage point we hadn't been able to see from our table.

Andrew Solender, Axios congressional reporter ... As I ran around the ballroom talking to members of Congress — many of whom were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 — most of them were surprised and deeply disturbed that something like this could happen at an event involving the president.

• "This changes everything — I mean, even our own security," Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) told me.

Noah Bressner, Axios AM editor ... Cell service was spotty. People around us alternated between attempting to reach loved ones and trying to piece together the news. Eventually, a guy at our table realized there was a Hilton WiFi network meant to let guests order extra alcohol. Password: MOREWINE.

🍾 The show went on at the glitzy after-parties following last night's disrupted dinner, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports.

• At MS NOW's underground speakeasy, guests were offered engraved flasks. D.C. celebrities, including Van Jones and Kaitlan Collins, chatted near an almost-deserted dance floor.

At Time's annual après-dinner soiree at the Swiss ambassador's residence (above), partiers snapped red-carpet pics and the DJ went past 3am. Along with drinks, many revelers gripped their phones, scrolling for updates and new images from the ballroom they'd just left.

⭐ Ahead of today's Ibiza-themed brunch for The Star and Politico at the Georgetown home of Robert and Elena Allbritton, guests received an email saying that in light of last night's event, screening was being enhanced and government-issued IDs were required. (The paella, patatas bravas and empanadas were scrumptious. And Mike saved room for churros.)

🇬🇧 The British Embassy announced that its finale reception with CNN would go on, since the weekend's core aim is to "recognize the importance and role of a free press and the First Amendment ... That recognition takes on even greater significance given the events of this evening."

White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend has reflected the changing news ecosystem. This year's rendition shows just how aggressively old-line media powers are being challenged by independent journalists and upstarts, Sara Fischer writes.

Stretching from Thursday to Sunday, a dozen parties and events surrounding this year's dinner were thrown by startup news organizations and outlets less than 10 years old.

• Punchbowl, Semafor, Axios, Puck and NOTUS hosted signature events.
• Several events were hosted by independent creators and the ecosystem surrounding them, including Oliver Darcy's Status and newsletter platforms Beehiiv and Substack.

🗞️ At the same time, the Washington Post pulled back. The paper didn't host a splashy brunch, like the $1 million affair it hosted last year, following another year of significant financial losses. The Post did host a pre-dinner cocktail reception.

🔎 Between the lines: A number of events this year were hosted by partisan outlets — a reflection of the growing partisan divide in news consumption in the digital era.

• MAGA moguls hosted a party Friday night at the glitzy Executive Branch club in Georgetown, which charges a $500,000 membership fee. Nelly performed to a crowd of a few hundred people, including administration officials, business leaders and media executives.
• Townhall, a conservative site, hosted an event at the conservative bar Butterworth's on Capitol Hill that was in part about "advancing President Trump's AI & Crypto Policy Agenda."
• Crooked Media, the media upstart launched by Obama administration alumni, hosted its fourth annual pre-WHCD party.

At Axios' invite-only gathering on Friday ...

👯 MS NOW president Rebecca Kutler said that in reaction to AI, people "are really craving real-life connection."

• "I'm looking around this standing-room-only room. That's why all of you came today," she said in an onstage conversation with Axios' Sara Fischer.
• "That's what we hope to build. ... What we're aiming to do is build a really rich community."

😳 The defining quality of successful Washington operators? It's "paranoia," according to Taylor Budowich, a former deputy White House chief of staff for President Trump who's now president of The Sovereign Advisors.

• "They're paranoid that somebody else is working harder than they are. Probably because it's true … [and it] drives them to succeed."

🥂 The kicker: Budowich noted the irony that his host at last night's dinner was AP.

• Associated Press v. Budowich is AP's lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's decision to bar the news organization from the Oval Office press pool.

Novelty pairing: Mehmet Oz and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was to be the night's entertainer, arrive at the dinner.

Scary minutes: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, were among many dignitaries rushed out of the dinner.

Black-tie presser: At a late-night briefing, President Trump addresses reporters who rushed back to the White House in their formal wear.