White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

2026 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

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(L-R) Stephanie Ruhle, Tammy Haddad and Dina Powell McCormick at the 33rd Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Haddad Media)

The White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch marked its 33rd anniversary today, returning to Georgetown’s historic Beall-Washington House to bring together guests from government, media, tech, business, and entertainment in honor of the press, public servants, and military families, particularly the mothers and spouses of active-duty service members. The annual gathering was co-hosted by Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, David Urban, Mark and Sally Ein, Jon Banner, and Franco Nuschese.

Photos from this year’s Garden Brunch can be found HERE — come back soon for video highlights!

The White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch was made possible by our partners: Meta, McDonald’s, General Motors, Uber, U.S. Steel, Netflix, Kimberly-Clark, Washington AI Network, and the Mark and Sally Ein Foundation.

The Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch and White House Correspondents Insider (WHC Insider) are not affiliated with, or approved by, the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch 2025: A Look Back

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Every year, the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch hosts pull off the impossible: a room where Fortune 500 CEOs, A-list politicians, top journalists, and a Hollywood star or two actually talk to each other — and mean it.

The 32nd Annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch didn’t disappoint. The Hollywood Reporter recently called it “legendary,” and this year reminded everyone why. Investor and co-owner of the Commanders Mark Ein again generously offered Georgetown’s historic Beall-Washington House, once the home of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, as the elegant setting – and it was packed, the energy electric, with a guest list that read like the very best dinner party on steroids.

But as always, the power of the day’s event was its soul.

The spotlight was on the first responders from the January 29, 2025 mid-air collision near Reagan National Airport — the men and women who ran toward the chaos while the rest of us watched in horror. White Lotus star Jason Isaacs and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) presented the honors, including one to rookie D.C. firefighter and Marine vet Sean Wathen, who was barely out of training when the call came in. The room felt it.

The rest of the brunch had that signature Tammy Haddad magic. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) worked the coffee line. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) spoke about the importance of the free press. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey posed for lots of pictures. Kevin O’Leary showed off his very cool watches. Kaitlan Collins from CNN was front and center. Chef Bobby Flay revealed his news junkie side, and Jonathan Karl from ABC brought his adorable daughter. CNN’s David Urban with actors Michael Chiklis and Dean Norris delighted the room explaining how often they are all constantly mistaken for one another. And the Washington Commanders’ mascot, Major Tuddy, was the most popular subject of many selfies.

That’s the thing about the Garden Brunch. In a city that runs on talking points and transactional relationships, this is a genuine gathering. At its core is an unbroken commitment — thirty-two years strong — to honoring the people who serve. First responders. Firefighters. Veterans. The ones who don’t make the guest list anywhere else, but who belong at every table. 

Thirty-two years in, Tammy Haddad’s brunch remains one of Washington’s most unlikely and essential traditions. Not because of the power in the room. Because of the values it refuses to forget.

AI Leaders Attend the Annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend

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Andrea Saul, VP of Public Affairs at Meta, and Joelle Pineau, VP of AI Research at Meta, attend the 31st Annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch at the Beall-Washington House in Washington, DC, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Haddad Media)

One of the top AI researchers, Joelle Pineau, VP of AI Research at Meta and featured guest for the inaugural TGAIFriday Lunch, attended her first White House Correspondents’ Weekend. She was joined at the Garden Brunch by former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, founder of the Special Competitive Studies Project (which will host Washington’s first AI Expo for National Competitiveness on May 7-8).

Other AI luminaries included NobleReach Foundation CEO Arun Gupta; Teresa Carlson, President of the General Catalyst Institute; EqualAI President & CEO Miriam Vogel; OpenAI’s Brad Lightcap, whom Bloomberg calls “AI’s secret weapon”; David Ginsberg, VP of Global Communications and Public Affairs at Meta; David Zapolsky, General Counsel of Amazon; John Rizzo of NVIDIA; and Center for AI Safety Action Fund Director of Government Relations and Public Policy Varun Krovi. From the U.S. Government: Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Chief of Staff Asad Ramzanali and Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Vice Admiral Frank Whitworth, as well as Rep. Don Beyer, co-chair of the House AI Caucus, and Senator Mark Warner.

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The 2024 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

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(L to R) Symone Sanders-Townsend, Eugene Daniels, Tammy Haddad, Savannah Guthrie, Mark Ein, Craig Minassian, Jon Banner, Kaitlan Collins, and Gus Kenworthy on stage at the 2024 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch in Washington, D.C., Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

Leaders in government, politics, media, business, and entertainment came together yesterday for the 2024 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, held at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown ahead of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

This marks the 31st anniversary of the Garden Brunch, first held in 1993 in founder Tammy Haddad’s backyard during Correspondents’ Weekend. The annual brunch honors the freedom of the press as well as the important work of veterans’ and military family organizations. Joining Haddad as Garden Brunch co-hosts this year were Ruth Porat, Kevin Sheekey, Mark & Sally Ein, Symone Sanders-Townsend, Jon Banner, Craig Minassian, and Franco Nuschese.

During the Brunch’s main program, Sanders-Townsend presented the Garden Brunch “Champion of Journalism” Award to Eugene Daniels – Playbook Author and White House Correspondent for POLITICO, and the next president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Symone Sanders-Townsend presents Eugene Daniels with the 2024 Garden Brunch “Champion of Journalism” Award, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

Daniels also led the attendees in a moment of silence to honor fellow journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who has been illegally imprisoned in Moscow for more than a year.

Haddad also honored and recognized four Maryland police officers whose actions in the wake of the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore saved many lives. Corporal Jeremy Herbert, Officer Garry Kirts, Sergeant Paul Pastorek, and Officer Timothy Baublitz were in attendance and received an emotional round of applause for their heroism. 

Tammy Haddad recognizes Maryland police officers Corporal Jeremy Herbert, Officer Garry Kirts, Sergeant Paul Pastorek, and Officer Timothy Baublitz at the Garden Brunch, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Olympic medalist Gus Kenworthy also took the stage to present co-host Mark Ein – owner of the Washington Commanders, the Washington Kastles, and the Beall-Washington House – with the Garden Brunch Award, marking the 10th anniversary of the Brunch being held at the historic property.

Mark Ein receives the 2024 Garden Brunch Award, presented by Kaitlan Collins and Gus Kenworthy, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

TODAY Show host Savannah Guthrie thanked members of the military for their service and acknowledged two organizations that support veterans and military family members: Dog Tag Bakery and Blue Star Families.

Savannah Guthrie gives remarks at the 2024 Garden Brunch, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

Throughout the Brunch, guests also had the opportunity to write notes thanking our nation’s service members and their families on the Blue Star Families Honor Wall, sponsored by U.S. Steel.

SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman posts a message to the Honor Wall at the Garden Brunch, Saturday, April 27, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

Attendees included Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham; British Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce; Ukraine Ambassador Oksana Markarova; Ireland Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason; Luxembourg Ambassador Nicole Bintner; Australia Ambassador and Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; DC Mayor Muriel Bowser; Senator Amy Klobuchar; Senator Mark R. Warner; Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester; Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Steven Horsford;  Former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway; Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat; Lyft CEO David Risher; TODAY’s Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie; CNN anchors Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, and Abby Phillip; MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend; former soccer player Ashlyn Harris; and actors Sophia Bush, Kevin McHale, Rosario Dawson, Jordan Klepper, Wilson Cruz, Joseph Lee, Andrew McCarthy and Desi Lydic.

Also seen were Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti; White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt; White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan; Speechwriter for the President Vinay Reddy; Senator Chris Coons; Rep. Don Beyer; Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick; Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett; Former RNC Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf; Dreamworks Co-Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg; Meta Vice President, AI Research Joelle Pineau; Under Armour Founder and CEO Kevin Plank; co-founder and editor-at-large of Recode Kara Swisher; executive editor of The Washington Post Sally Buzbee; Axios CEO and co-founder Jim VandeHei; POLITICO reporter and upcoming WHCA President Eugene Daniels; SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher; Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; television personalities Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright; and Washington Commanders President Jason Wright.

Special thanks to this year’s Garden Brunch sponsors were GM, U.S. Steel, McDonalds, Verizon, Flex Association, and the Mark and Sally Ein Foundation; our Friends of the Brunch, Brunswick Group, The Ned, and Pernod Ricard; and our hospitality partner, Versus, bringing their Casta’s Rum Bar and Morris American Bar brands to the Garden Brunch.

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Want more history on the Correspondents’ Dinner and related events? Listen to Tammy Haddad’s podcast series “Cone of Silence” on Audioboom and iTunes.

Washington AI Network Hosts Inaugural TGAIFriday Lunch, Presented by Meta

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Tammy Haddad and Joelle Pineau take a group selfie with attendees of the Washington AI Network’s inaugural TGAIFriday Lunch in Washington, D.C., Friday, April 26, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)

Kicking off this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend, the Washington AI Network hosted the inaugural TGAIFriday Lunch — presented by Meta — today at The House at 1229.

The Washington AI Network is a dynamic bipartisan forum that brings together diverse stakeholders from industry, government, civil society, and academia to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and responsible development and deployment of AI technologies.

In today’s keynote conversation, Joelle Pineau (Vice President of AI Research at Meta) talked with our founder Tammy Haddad on the power and potential of AI.

Tammy Haddad and Joelle Pineau record an episode of the Washington AI Network podcast at the TGAIFriday Lunch, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Photo credit: John Harrington)
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It’s Here: 2024 White House Correspondents’ Week

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Stephanie Ruhle (R) speaks onstage during the 30th Anniversary White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch on April 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Haddad Media)

It’s that time of year again! With the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner happening this weekend, Washington is gearing up for its biggest week of events – including our annual Garden Brunch this Saturday honoring military veterans and their families.

The following is a running list of events happening across D.C. this week, as reported by Politico – and remember, these are invitation-only.

(For more updates over the next few days, make sure you’re following us on social media at @whcinsider.)

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White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch Photos

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Teresa Carlson, Craig Minassian, Yamiche Alcindor, Bob and Lee Woodruff, Tammy Haddad Mark and Sally Ein and family, Gayle King and Stephanie Ruhle at the 2022 White House Correspondents Garden Brunch
The 27th annual White House Correspondents’ Weekend Garden Brunch on April 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Lt. General Donna Martin and husband Tim w/ Dr. Tony Fauci and his wife, Dr. Christine Grady(Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for White House Correspondents Insider )
Ron Bonjean take a photo of rapper Fat Joe talking to Dr. Tony Fauci

View more images from the 2022 #GardenBrunch

Paramount Global’s Starry White House Correspondents Dinner After Party

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CBS, MTV Entertainment, Comedy Central, Paramount+, and Showtime, otherwise known as Paramount Global, came together to host the #ParamountAfterParty at the Residence of France with Ambassador Philippe Etienne following the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 30th. The star-studded affair was one of the most sought-after tickets of the weekend.

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The top brass from Paramount Global strutted their stuff as the new hosts. Bloomberg and VANITY FAIR were the longtime hosts of the After party, but this year in Paramount Global garnered an equally epic gathering of Washington’s top players and Hollywood’s beautiful people. The guest list included Diane Lane, Sophia Bush, Gayle King, Roy Wood, Jr., Billy Eichner, as well as Biden administration officials Secretary of State Tony Blinken, White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan, Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti, Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Biden Senior Advisor Mike Donilon and Senators Chris Coons (Del.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and former Congressman Will Hurd (Texas) from Capitol Hill.

Paramount Global leadership was well represented by CBS president and CEO George Cheeks, SHOWTIME CEO David Nevins, Washington favorite DeDe Lea, EVP of Global Public Policy and Government Relations, co-presidents of CBS News Wendy McMahon and Neeraj Khemlani and Tom Ryan, President & CEO Paramount Streaming / Co-Founder & CEO Pluto TV.

The company owned the weekend with Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah appearing as the comedian at the dinner, CBS radio’s Steve Portnoy, this year’s President of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell, who signed a new contract and hosts the only evening new show that originates from Washington, and Showtime Stars Corey Stoll and Desus were among the guests.

The Biden White House staff was well represented beginning with Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan, Steve and Amy Ricchetti, Mike and Trish Donilon, Jen Psaki, Ned Price, Anthony Bernal, Naomi Biden, Ashley Biden, Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, Amb. Philippe Etienne, Amb. Karen Pierce, Charles Roxburgh, Karine Jean-Pierre, John McCarthy, Lina Khan, Rohit Chopra, Jessica Rosenworcel, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Chris Coons, DeDe Lea, David Nevins, George Cheeks, Neeraj Khemlani, Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell and Geoff Tracy, Diane Lane, Brooke Shields and daughter Rowan, Harry Hamlin, Roy Wood, Christa Robinson, Roy Wood, Jr., Tony Dokoupil and Katy Tur, Chris and Jenny Licht, David and Katie Leavy, Don Lemon and Tim Malone, Nathaniel Brown, Pamela Brown, Kate Bouldan, Fred and Genny Ryan, Kara Swisher, Nayeema Raza, Carol Melton, Robert Costa, Jason Isaacs, Symone Sanders, Jonathan Swan, Mike Allen, Jay Carney, John Harris, Matt Kaminsky, Matt Dornic, Jim VandeHei, Steve and Jean Case, Marne Levine and Phil Deutch, Will Hurd, Chris Krebs, Shelley Zalis, Yebbie Watkins, Liz Johnson, Daniel Koh and Amy Sennett, Senay Bulbul, Jonathan and Betsy Fisher Martin, Luke Russert, Kasie Hunt, Craig Gordon, Olivia Nuzziand Ryan Lizza, Brian Stelter, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, Ryan Williams, Anthony Verdugo, Nancy Cordes, Marc Adelman.

2022 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch Co-Hosts Congratulate Award Recipients

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White House Correspondents’ Co-Hosts Teresa Carlson, Craig Minassian, Yamiche Alcindor, Tammy Haddad, Mark and Sally Ein, and Stephanie Ruhle congratulate 2022 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch award receipients Bob and Lee Woodruff of The Bob Woodruff Foundation and U.S. Army Inspector General LTG Donna Martin.

View more images from the 2022 #GardenBrunch