White House Correspondents’ Dinner Cancels Amber Ruffin’s Appearance After Comedian Jokes About Trump Administration

Amber Ruffin is no longer hosting this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an announcement that comes shortly after the comedian publicly joked about President Donald Trump’s policies.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) announced the news in a statement to members on Saturday, March 29, two months after announcing her appearance.

“The WHCA board has unanimously decided we are no longer featuring a comedic performance this year,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels wrote of the annual dinner, scheduled for April 26 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.

“At this consequential moment for journalism,” Daniels continued. “I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.”

The WHCA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on March 30, nor did a rep for Ruffin.

The organization’s announcement nixing Ruffin’s appearance comes just one day after White House Deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich criticized the Emmy-nominated comedian, 46, for her criticisms of the Trump administration.

On Friday, March 28, Budowich shared a post on X calling Ruffin “a 2nd rate comedian” alongside a clip of her discussing her thoughts about the upcoming dinner in a recent interview.

In the clip, the comedian says, “You’re kind of a bunch of murderers,” seemingly in reference to the current administration. Ruffin also recalls a request to keep her speech at the event “equal,” to which she said, “There’s no way I’m going to be freaking doing that, dude. Under no circumstances.”

“What kind of responsible, sensible journalist would attend something like this?” Budowich wrote of her comments in the March 28 post. “More importantly, what kind of company would sponsor such as [sic] hate-filled and violence-inspiring event?”

The WHCA’s decision also comes after the comedian took jabs at the Trump administration on Late Night with Seth Meyers, per Politico.

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According to the outlet, Ruffin, a writer for the NBC show, recently poked fun at the administration’s decision to ban Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office for refusing to alter its style guide to comply with the president’s controversial order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The WHCA has supported the AP in its subsequent lawsuit against the administration, per Deadline.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been an annual tradition since 1921, with presidents typically in attendance — though Trump, 78, previously skipped out on the event during his first term. He did not attend in 2019, opting to instead to host a political rally ahead of the 2020 election.