WHCA revelers share a ‘Toast to Colin Jost’ before correspondent’s dinner

by Elizabeth Crisp - 04/27/24 11:38 AM ET

Media personalities, celebrities, political bigwigs and other revelers spent Friday evening at La Grande Boucherie in Washington, D.C., feting White House Correspondents Association dinner headliner Colin Jost.

Jost, a co-anchor on Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) “Weekend Update,” attended the party with his wife, actress Scarlett Johansson.

Attendees munched on mini burgers, tuna and cucumber bites and delicate charcuterie and cheese spreads, as they sipped on colorful specialty cocktails, wine and champagne.

Media personalities, celebrities and others gather at La Grande Boucherie on Friday, April 26, 2024 in Washington, D.C., a day before the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner (The Hill/Elizabeth Crisp)

La Grande Boucherie, located on 14th St. about a block from the White House, opened just days before the Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) “WHCD Kickoff Party: A Toast to Colin Jost” event.

The historic bank building had been vacant for decades before the restaurant renovation, which maintained the historic grandeur from the 1920s-30s heyday of the since-shuttered banking operation while adding touches of opulent French flair.

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell and comedian Colin Jost attend the CAA Kickoff Party for The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend at La Grande Boucherie on April 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for CAA)

In addition to Jost and Johansson, others who attended the packed party include second gentleman Doug Emhoff; White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; top Biden adviser Steve Richetti; CAA CEO Bryan Lourd; SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels; Dreamworks creator and President Biden’s reelection campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg; actor Chris Pine; comedians Jordan Klepper and Matt Friend; “The Daily Show’s” Desi Lydic; President Biden’s daughter, Ashley, and granddaughter, Naomi; and a host of familiar TV news figures, including CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Phil Mattingly, John Berman, David Chalian and Jim Sciutto; MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell; NBC’s Savannah Guthrie and Kelly O’Donnell; ABC’s Mary Bruce; and CBS’s Wendy McMahon, among many others.

A string quartet provided subtle music for the glitzy event, before guests headed out around 9 p.m. to continue on the packed party circuit leading up to Saturday’s main event.