Members of Congress say correspondents’ dinner shooting was a chilling reminder of security gaps

WASHINGTON — For many members of Congress, Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was a chilling reminder of not only the threats they face, but also some of the security gaps with which they still contend — especially when they leave Capitol Hill.

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Unlike members of congressional leadership or high-ranking Trump administration officials, the more than 500 rank-and-file lawmakers are not typically afforded security details. They can, however, coordinate with local police departments for events in their districts or pay to hire their own security.

Saturday’s dinner underscored the challenges of protecting so many high-profile people, especially at a time when anti-government violence is at a 30-year high. While members of leadership, who have a 24/7 protective detail from the United States Capitol Police, were evacuated from the dinner in the moments after the shooting, rank-and-file lawmakers were left locked down inside the ballroom with the thousands of other guests.

In a panic, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise if he could join him as his detail took him out of the ballroom Saturday night. The Louisiana Republican didn’t hesitate, according to Moskowitz, who did not have protection.

“Regular members — we’re sitting ducks. We’re sitting ducks in our districts. We’re sitting ducks when we go out into D.C. We don’t have detail,” he told NBC News outside of the Capitol on Monday evening.

Scalise, who was nearly assassinated at the 2017 congressional baseball shooting but survived because his security detail took down the shooter, said he didn’t even think twice about bringing Moskowitz with him.

“I grabbed him and said to stay close, and we got out of there,” Scalise said.

But other rank-and-file members had a far different experience. One House GOP lawmaker said that, while stranded in the ballroom, he called Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for guidance about what to do, but the speaker told them they had already left the building.

The lawmaker then asked a Secret Service agent what to do and was told he needed to leave the hotel with everyone else. So the member and his wife walked home.

It was only after most guests — including the House GOP lawmaker — had left the ballroom that an announcement was made inside the room for any members of Congress to come to the center stage. A senior congressional aide who was at the dinner said transportation was then ultimately provided for those members who did step forward. Another Capitol Hill source confirmed the Capitol Police was involved in that effort.

The agency declined to comment.

The House GOP lawmaker said he was surprised by the lack of a clear or immediate security plan for the many rank-and-file lawmakers at the dinner, given there was a significant number of them attending, and they too are often the subject of threats.

Threats to members of Congress have been on the rise, with the USCP investigating 14,938 cases last year against members of Congress, their families and staff — an all-time high since the department started tracking these numbers.

The lawmaker noted the USCP or sergeant-at-arms did not proactively take steps to compile a list of lawmakers in attendance ahead of the event, and he said he was never contacted by anyone prior to the USCP statement Saturday evening saying everyone was “accounted for,” although all reports indicated at the time there were no injuries inside the ballroom. The lawmaker said he called the sergeant-at-arms the following day to express his concerns with how things were handled.

Lawmakers are not required to inform Capitol Police or the sergeant-at-arms of their whereabouts, and there is a phone line members of Congress can call in emergencies. And the Secret Service was taking lead on the event. The dinner was not designated as a National Special Security Event, which is a higher security designation from the Department of Homeland Security that is used for things like presidential inaugurations or State of the Union addresses and often involves a multiagency security plan.

Some lawmakers are calling to re-evaluate their security protocols for the dinner, especially since there are often so many members and officials in attendance.

“I’ve never felt safe. I never have. I never have. You know, it’s really unfortunate,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has faced a high number of death threats, told reporters. “And to be honest, a lot of what we get told is well, is that there just aren’t the resources to protect members of Congress either, and it’s a really dire and desperate state that we’re in as a country.”

Congress has been grappling with how to better protect itself amid a spate of political violence in recent years, and it has taken steps to enhance security for lawmakers.

Senators passed a 2026 appropriations bill that dedicates $75 million for member security, divided evenly among the 100-person chamber. Each senator receives an account with $750,000 specifically for security needs.

House members can access up to $20,000 per month for personal security through direct payment or reimbursement from the House sergeant-at-arms, totaling $240,000 per member annually, according to a person familiar with the funding process. These funds can be used to enhance security in their home districts, in Washington or while they are on the road.

Moskowitz praised Johnson for plussing-up a monthly allowance members can use to spend on personal security. He told NBC News he uses the money for round-the-clock security outside of his Florida home after authorities foiled a plot to assassinate him.

“But at some point in time, someone’s going to harm somebody in this building or somewhere else,” Moskowitz said. “I mean, we have to get it right every time, right? They only have to get it right once. And we’re going to have to figure out, you know, security. We’re going to have to — it’s going to cost money.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., offered an equally blunt sentiment.

“It’s dangerous,” he said, adding, “I expect that’ll stay the same till somebody gets killed, and then it’ll change.”