Around midnight Saturday, new MSNBC host Eugene Daniels<\/strong> strolled into the French Ambassador\u2019s residence. Daniels, the outgoing White House Correspondents Association president, had just presided over the organization\u2019s annual dinner, which was taking place at an ominous time<\/a> for the press under President Donald Trump.<\/strong> \u201cIt felt fulfilling,\u201d said Daniels, who was decked in all white with sparkling brooch details, hand-in-hand with his husband.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d he told me, \u201cwhat we wanted to do we did, which was to put journalism front and center, to put the First Amendment front and center, to put a spotlight on the students who are only in that room because of the tickets from that dinner, and to allow our award winners to speak about their stories, talk about the importance of freedom of the press.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n I was curious how this Washington tradition would play given understandable ambivalence about celebrating<\/a> the First Amendment on the heels of the Trump White House taking over the press pool, one of the Correspondents Association\u2019s key roles, and battling the Associated Press over access. The WHCD dinner weekend, which kicks off Thursday night with a slew of events and wraps with Sunday\u2019s boozy brunches, was already under way when Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/strong> announced<\/a> Friday that the Justice Department was rescinding Biden-era policies over subpoenaing journalists\u2019 records in leak investigations.<\/p>\n While some revelers I encountered questioned whether this is really<\/em> the best time for journalists to party\u2014and yes, while hanging out at parties themselves!\u2014the sprawling weekend, in other ways, was as frenzied as ever, complete with newer entrants, like Substack and Status, joining the four-day-party circuit among more established media brands, like NBC News and Telemundo, which sponsored the big Saturday night afterparty.<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/media.vanityfair.com\/photos\/680e34d0d2f08e300be34cb2\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/vf425-whcd-CAA.png\")