Susie Wiles has called an urgent meeting to discuss Donald Trump’s future security needs as she comes under pressure over the massive breach at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
The White House chief of staff will meet with senior administration officials, the Secret Service, and the Department of Homeland Security to discuss security for upcoming high-profile events the president is set to attend, including those tied to America 250 celebrations, according to CBS News.
Wiles, who oversees the Secret Service as part of her remit, has also ordered a review of security at the WHCA dinner to assess which aspects were successful and whether additional measures are needed to protect the president.
The meetings come as Wiles and the Secret Service have been condemned for the breach, which allowed a gunman to storm through a checkpoint before the black-tie event at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night apparently intent on attacking Trump and members of his Cabinet. Wiles is also said to be prepared to throw the president’s sons under the bus should any criticism of the security planning surrounding the dinner escalate.
The Daily Beast has been told that White House staff are adamant Wiles is not under any pressure to quit.
But one source told RealClearPolitics’ Susan Crabtree that Wiles’ job could be on the line as officials look to assign blame for the security breach. Wiles is reportedly under pressure for not firing Sean Curran, the agency’s chief, after Trump promoted him last year.
Curran previously led Trump’s personal security detail during the 2024 campaign and was pictured next to the Republican as he raised one arm in the air in the aftermath of the Butler shooting in July 2024, during which the actions of the Secret Service were also heavily criticized. Months later, another would-be assassination attempt against Trump was foiled at his golf resort in West Palm Beach.
“They’re about to fire [FBI Director Kash Patel] and he had nothing to do with this when Susie oversees the Secret Service, and it’s failure after failure after failure, and she gets no blame,” the source told Crabtree.
“This should’ve been the most secure perimeter in the world. And the fact that the guy made it through the mags [magnetometers] underscores the epic failure of the U.S. Secret Service in protecting the president.”
The report also suggests Wiles planned to blame the president’s two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, if Curran’s promotion to Secret Service chief backfired, as they were the ones who pushed for his appointment. Wiles allegedly never wanted Curran for the role and told other administration officials that “it’s on the boys” if he turns out to be a mistake.
Elsewhere, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration did not provide the highest level of security for Saturday’s event and that the Secret Service considered only the ballroom and the immediate perimeter around it to be the areas it would protect, not the entire hotel.
A manifesto written by the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, ridiculed the lack of security at the dinner and noted that he largely evaded it because he checked into the hotel the night before.
In a scathing article, Hugh Dougherty, executive editor of The Daily Beast, blasted the lax security surrounding the WHCA dinner after discovering he had been staying in the room next to the alleged gunman.
“How on earth could someone with a disassembled long gun check into a room at a hotel where the president was going to speak? I can answer that: Nobody even looked at my luggage on Friday afternoon,” Dougherty wrote.
“Worse, my colleague arrived on Saturday at 5 p.m. Nobody looked at his luggage either: No magnetometers, no hand checks, no I.D. checks. Nothing.”
Speaking to reporters at a Saturday night press conference, Trump defended the Secret Service, saying they “acted very quickly.”
“I was very impressed by Secret Service,” he said. “I’m the one that would complain. You don’t have to complain for me, I would be complaining. I’d be up here right now saying ‘They didn’t do their job.’ Oh, believe me because, you know, it’s my life.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
