GOP Lawmaker Insists 'Line of Succession' Not Be Allowed At One Event: Could Have 'All Been Taken Out'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Apr 26th, 2026, 2:44 pm


Republican lawmaker Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) insisted that the presidential “line of succession” not be allowed to be at the same event because of situations like the shooting at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

McCaul was present at the Washington Hilton when he heard gunshots go off. The president and Trump officials were escorted out by the Secret Service, as were McCaul and other lawmakers. “But, you know, you don’t know what’s going to happen next, right? You don’t know if it’s going to escalate to an AR-15 situation or an explosive device. And fortunately, it didn’t,” McCaul told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday.

“It’s interesting that you just said you weren’t sure maybe there was an IED,” Bash said. “I spoke this morning with Oz Pearlman, who was slated to be the entertainment last night, and he said one of his first thoughts was, ‘A bomb is going to go off. I had no idea.’ Given that, what do you think of keeping everybody contained in the ballroom?”.

“Yeah, a lot of times, and if you’re like dealing with a terrorist situation, you will have another event simultaneously. I think an evacuation would have been appropriate. You know, we just didn’t know if this situation was going to escalate,” McCaul said. “The thing that really — takeaway I got was that the line of succession — you had the president and the vice president at the head table, both of them together, and the speaker of the House. Had an explosive device gone off, you would have knocked out the president, vice president, speaker — the three in line of succession,” McCaul continued.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/gop-lawmaker-insists-line-of-succession-not-be-allowed-at-one-event-could-have-all-been-taken-out/

[Gaugamela]

1. Oh the humanity!

[cstanleytech]

2. It was completely incompetent but then that's the Trump administration as usual.

[Grokenstein]

3. Every time I've seen the entire cabal together

the first words that come to mind have been "opportunity" and "missed."

[Aussie105]

25. Bomb.

Not a gun, just a well placed bomb.

No second amendment style provision for bombs as a form of self-expression though.

My apologies: I've become very cynical over the years.
Don't know why, really - but you can probably guess.

[displacedvermoter]

4. Any time you can get a mesmerist involved

in such an incident, you have really gone into crazy land. Jeane Dixon comes immediately to mind (no pun intended).

[Sogo]

5. I don't believe it is accurate to suggest that the entire line of succession was present last night at the WHCD.

After the Speaker, it's the President Pro Temp of the Senate, which is currently Chuck Grassley. I don't believe he was there....and then it flows to the Cabinet members.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. Yes that whole "line of succession" goes down through the cabinet members too

not just the Speaker Pro Tem, and many of them WERE there.

ASSley is 92 years old, a fact that few in the media (except maybe the Daily Beast) will point out. He's probably not going to many if any "events".

But some of us remember that "Al Haig moment" back in 1981, associated with that same damn hotel, who described his OWN "line of succession".

[LeftInTX]

6. No more inaugurations?

[chowder66]

7. Quiet Piggy.

[RussBLib]

8. paranoia strikes deep

....they should probably think about that BEFORE the event takes place. Typical Trump admin incompetence.

https://russblib.blogspot.com

[EarthFirst]

9. Just goes to prove how detached from reality this group is...

…they are such legends in their own minds that they cannot possibly comprehend that such a scenario exists.

[Wonder Why]

11. Sounds like a solution in search of a problem.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. Let's not be hasty -- give it a couple more tries, then we'll see if the worst possible case is really possible. nt

[JI7]

13. I thought they always made sure one person

was in a different place during events where most officials are planning to attend.

At least I remember that when it came to the state of the union.

[LeftInTX]

14. The WaPo did an article on these types of events.

Event should have been a National Special Security Event, which has protocol for SOTU, inaugurations etc, because so many cabinet and succession members were there. However, it wasn't given that designation.

They probably didn't plan for it properly because Trump had never been to a WHCD dinner in his forever history as POTUS...

[travelingthrulife]

35. But the future of the mighty ballroom was at risk.

[Bayard]

15. He says that like its a bad thing....

[33taw]

31. Grassley!,

[travelingthrulife]

36. Well he's in his 90s so not too worried about old Chuck.

[33taw]

38. Other than who will control him.

[republianmushroom]

16. As if the American people could be so lucky.

[Srkdqltr]

17. how do we know who the gunman was after? ..

[BumRushDaShow]

19. They are claiming that he sent a "manifesto" to his family the day before.

But the spin that has evolved from the WH when compared to excepts that have been released in the media, seems typically shallow.

[mackdaddy]

18. Well, it is not like we killed the leader of a country with ninety million people.

I am sure they would never retaliate in any way...

[travelingthrulife]

37. Not just the leader, the current leader's father, wife and child I believe.

[3825-87867]

20. Imagine a crazed mass shooting at the White House

during an event or major cabinet meeting with all attending. Depending on how many were killed leaving behind the legal succession. Imagine the choice we get for the next person to become president!

What a qualified Group!


1. Vice President 01 J.D. Vance

2. Speaker of the House 02. Mike Johnson

3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate 03. Chuck Grassley

4. Secretary of State 04. Marco Rubio

5. Secretary of the Treasury 05. Scott Bessent

6. Secretary of Defense 06. Pete Hegseth

7. Attorney General 07. Todd Blanche

8. Secretary of the Interior 08. Doug Burgum

9. Secretary of Agriculture 09. Brooke Rollins

10. Secretary of Commerce 10. Carrie H. Chenery

11. Secretary of Labor 11.

12. Secretary of HHS 12. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

13. Secretary of HUD 13. Scott Turner

14. Secretary of Transportation 14. Sean Duffy

15. Secretary of Energy 15. Chris Wright

16. Secretary of Education 16. Linda E. McMahon

17. Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17. Douglas A. Collins

18. Secretary of Homeland Security 18. Markwayne Mullin

We could end up with Jr.!
Kinda bogels the mind!

[niyad]

22. ??? commerce is nutlick. .oooops lutnick. carrie chenery is Virginia.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. Remember this from 12 years ago?

[Retrograde]

29. Isn't Blanche just acting AG?

Admittedly I could have missed the confirmation hearing or gotten it mixed up with Mullins’ - it’s sometimes hard to tell these toadies apart

[AZLD4Candidate]

33. Acting as a Z list AG in a Z list administration. Golden Raspberry Award acting.

[VanceFan]

21. I wish

Taking out the entire "Line of Incompetence" sounds great to me.

[GenThePerservering]

23. Don't threaten us with a good time. nt

[blue blues]

24. Well it's early to react - Just like any of the many school shootings

[popsdenver]

26. LOL

Never mind, I won't say it.............

[Renew Deal]

27. Were Johnson or Grassley there?

If not, they wouldn't be going far down the line.

[dsc]

34. Grassley who is 92 wasn't there but Johnson was.

After Grassley would be Rubio and I haven't a clue if he was there or not.

[ToxMarz]

30. I bet he would feel otherwise if it was Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.

[taxi]

32. McCaul could have said nothing, avoiding placing himself in the looney 'I can see Russia' crowd

The point being glossed over is what effective terrorism is and how it can be used to affect us. Sending a crowd scrambling for the exits may be just what a group of terrorists would want. To equate a single supposed gunman as an equal threat as an organized operation like 9/11 is foolish. It distracts us. We hear about the lone wolf, the exception, that one guy who they say no one can ever prepare against, or about a country's potential to make a bomb. It's one extreme or the other. I've come to the conclusion that 'Lone Wolf' worn on the vests of bikers and weekend warriors is very popular. But hey, we're told all these lone wolfs are harmless and they have the right to protect themselves. They go to the same places at the same time and do all the same things with the same thoughts in mind. And what is the Maga solution - stay focused on the real threat of speed boats and solar panels and autopens and eggs. And build better bunkers.