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Shooting, deadlines, diplomacy:
A busy week in Washington
29 April 2026
The shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night was initially met with a sense of unity between President Trump and the mainstream media that we rarely see. However, the rhetoric quickly changed with President Trump criticising the media by Sunday. Yet even these political developments have not slowed the president, who released a list of new federal nominations just two days later, including his pick for ambassador to Australia.
The shooting occurs at a particularly fraught time as the President faces record-low approval numbers and critical deadlines looming for Congress. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs out in early May. Republicans are looking for a way to secure a filibuster-proof majority to ensure longer-term funding for the agency. Speaker Mike Johnson, however, is now planning to propose a new funding bill, which would extend the DHS shutdown. The first day of May also marks 60 days since the start of the conflict with Iran and is the deadline for Congress to authorise presidential use of force under the War Powers Act. This is all occurring while Washington juggles a state visit from King Charles III this week.
Rather than slowing the White House agenda, the shooting seemed to accelerate it. President Trump leveraged the shooting to push for the new White House ballroom (which faces legal challenges) and now some Republicans are trying to include the new ballroom in the DHS bill. On Monday, he also sent a list to the Senate of new nominees for federally appointed positions.
Former Virginian Congressman and economist Dave Brat received the nod to succeed Caroline Kennedy as ambassador to Australia. A former member of the House Freedom Caucus, Brat joined Liberty University as Dean of the School of Business after leaving Congress.
Importantly, Brat, who previously described himself as a “free trader”, came out in support of Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs in 2025, saying, “We would like to export some goods also, so that we can put capital into the hands of our workers, and our workers get rich. It just needs to be a fair playing field.”
Given his economic background, it will be interesting to see to what extent tariff policy, or longstanding US frustrations with Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, are on the agenda for Brat, assuming he is successfully confirmed as ambassador.
Mari Koeck
Director of Engagement and Impact
Lead image: Former Virginian Congressman and economist Dave Brat received the nod to succeed Caroline Kennedy as ambassador to Australia (photo by Celal Gunes via Getty).
"The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone. In this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements or assume that foundational principles simply endure."
In the news
SBS | Donald Trump names pick for top US post in Australia after 15-month vacancy
USSC Associate Professor David Smith spoke with SBS about the nomination of Dave Brat to serve as ambassador to Australia and noted that Brat is, "quite the unusual economist."
SMH | ‘Why couldn’t I see it?’ Painful and profound reality of the Epstein elites exposed
USSC CEO Dr Michael Green spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald about the American historical context that could lead to the rise of Epstein elites, noting, "America is not a country where a Marxist revolution could ever take root because people continue to think that they, too, could be a member of that [upper class]."
The Nightly | David Brat: Who is Donald Trump’s nominee to be US ambassador to Australia? Everything we know
USSC Director of Research Jared Mondschein spoke with The Nightly about the benefits Dave Brat could bring to the role of ambassador, saying, "To have an ambassador who can faithfully share Australia’s perspective on these matters is really important and Dave Brat not only has the considerable grassroots ties with the MAGA movement, he also has the ideological alignment with President Trump."
ABC | American Insight with Bruce Wolpe
In this interview, USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Bruce Wolpe spoke with ABC's Philip Clark to discuss the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting.
By the numbers
Stark contrast in Australian, US gun deaths
Source: CDC Wonder
The assassination attempt at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner has again focused attention on US firearm policy. US gun-related deaths have seen a decrease from the record-high levels observed during the pandemic but remain vastly more common than in Australia.
In 2024, 44,447 people died of gun-related injuries in the United States, which is 13.1 deaths per 100,000 people. Of these deaths, 15,364 were firearm homicides, according to CDC Wonder data. This means 4.5 firearm murders per 100,000 people.
Australia’s numbers are significantly different. Between July 2023 and June 2024, 206 people died of gun-related injuries, which is 0.76 deaths per 100,000 people. Out of these, 31 cases were classified as gun-related murders. This is 0.09 firearm murders per 100,000 people; one-fiftieth of the US rate.
The stark contrast in firearm deaths in the United States and Australia does not apply when it comes to suicide, which remains the same leading cause of death through firearms in both countries. Suicides accounted for 58% of gun fatalities in the United States in 2023 and 70% in Australia.
Access to firearms strongly correlates with an increased risk of suicide, though gun ownership levels between the United States and Australia contrast significantly. About a third of American adults say they personally own a gun, with four in ten American adults saying they live in a household with a gun, according to Pew Research Center data.
Data from the Australia Institute shows that guns in Australia remain highly regulated but have increased in total number by 25% compared to 1996, the year of the Port Arthur Massacre. The Department of Home Affairs recorded 929,741 total firearm licenses across the country in 2025, with approximately 1 in 30 Australians holding a firearms license. While the proportion of gun owners in the general population has decreased since 1997, the concentration of weapons increased to approximately four firearms per licensed individual in 2024.
Shreya Vivek
Politics, Society and Culture Intern
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United States Studies Centre
Institute Building (H03)
University of Sydney NSW 2006