Past Luncheons

These events have created our global reputation as a great venue where news is made. The Luncheon speaker series allows a guest such as a head of state, politician, cabinet secretary, business leader, musician, actor, sports star or other interesting person to give a significant speech of good duration and then take questions from the press. The questions are written on cards and passed up to the President of the Press Club, who decides which ones will be asked and in what order. The entire program is one hour. All these Luncheons are covered by C-Span and aired several times. Some are aired live by C-Span or some of the other news organizations that cover these events regularly including CNN, MSNBC, Fox, CNBC, Bloomberg and many others. The NPC shoots video of each luncheon which is webcast live on our homepage and available in our archives. We also shoot and post still photos, record digital audio that our members turn into a radio program and create transcripts of the remarks. We write brief articles for our online newsletter The Wire. The Club invites a dozen or so journalists to sit at the head table, have lunch with the guest and ask questions. Some of the head table journalists write stories for their own outlets including: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, USA Today, Washington Post and others.

There are about 75 luncheons a year. Most of these Luncheons take place in the NPC Ballroom which seats about 300 or so guests. The public can buy tickets to most NPC luncheons. Sometimes the Speakers Committee (link here), which arranges the luncheons decides to hold their event as a breakfast or a news conference with no meal to accommodate the schedule of a guest-- but this is rare. If you have never attended an NPC luncheon, but have seen them on C-Span please join us and bring a friend for an unforgettable experience. The lunch normally begins at 12:30; the speech begins at 1 p.m.; the Q & A ends at 2pm. Tickets are $35. Club members and their guests pay a reduced rate.

Events are sorted in reverse chronological order. Transcripts or tapes for luncheon speakers are available
from the National Press Club Archives.
Phone: 202-662-7598
E-Mail: [email protected]
Transcripts and streaming video of luncheon speakers are located on the speaker audio & transcript page(s).
More details about an event can be found under the appropriate date in the Master Calendar

Please note: this list is no longer being updated. The latest/most complete listing of past NPC Headliners can be found here.

April 2018


Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
April 12, 2018

March 2018


Olympic Swimmer Katie Ledecky
March 26, 2018

Senator Jeff Flake
March 15, 2018

December 2017


U.S. Secretary Of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
December 12, 2017

November 2017


World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim
November 20, 2017

Chairperson Of The African Union Commission H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat
November 15, 2017

U.S. Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Dr. David Shulkin
November 6, 2017

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb
November 3, 2017

September 2017


NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
September 8, 2017

August 2017


NAACP President Derrick Johnson
August 29, 2017

July 2017


Army Chief of Staff General Mark A. Milley
July 27, 2017

Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC-11)
July 24, 2017

Amtrak CEO Charles W. "Wick" Moorman IV
July 12, 2017

June 2017


Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
June 20, 2017

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford
June 19, 2017

April 2017


IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
April 5, 2017

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
April 4, 2017

March 2017


Pfizer CEO Ian Read
March 23, 2017

January 2017


Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell
January 9, 2017

December 2016


MGM Resorts Chairman & CEO James Murren
December 2, 2016

November 2016


Paul Wiedefeld, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager
November 30, 2016

Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
November 21, 2016

October 2016


John B. King, Jr., United States Secretary of Education
October 19, 2016

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Basketball Legend, Author
October 17, 2016

Ray Mabus, United States Secretary of the Navy
October 12, 2016

Roberto Azevêdo, Director of The World Trade Organization
October 7, 2016

Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture
October 3, 2016

September 2016


Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)
September 8, 2016

August 2016


Michael York, Actor & Spokesman for Amyloidosis
August 12, 2016

Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of The National Park Service
August 1, 2016

July 2016


Michael S. Rogers, Director of The National Security Agency
July 14, 2016

Libertarian Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees Gary Johnson & William Weld
July 7, 2016

June 2016


Christopher Hart, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
June 30, 2016

United States Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez
June 22, 2016

Tom Wheeler, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
June 20, 2016

Girl Scouts CEO Anna Maria Chávez
June 13, 2016

May 2016


Dr. Tom Frieden, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
May 26, 2016

April 2016


United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker
April 18, 2016

March 2016


John Koskinen
March 24, 2016

Ken Burns & Henry Louis Gates
March 14, 2016

WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld
March 7, 2016

January 2016


Mac Thornberry (R-TX)
January 13, 2016

Admiral John Richardson
January 11, 2016

December 2015


Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada 2015
December 18, 2015

Alejandro Garcia Padilla, Governor of Puerto Rico
December 16, 2015

Dr. David J. Skorton, U.S. Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
December 8, 2015

HRH Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan
December 4, 2015

Deborah Lee James, U.S. Secretary of The Air Force
December 2, 2015

November 2015


Robert A. McDonald, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
November 6, 2015

October 2015


U.S. Women's Soccer star Abby Wambach
October 28, 2015

GOP Presidential Candidate Dr. Ben Carson
October 9, 2015

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
October 7, 2015

Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert
October 2, 2015

Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis
October 1, 2015

September 2015


U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
September 30, 2015

Big Ten Commissioner Bob Bowlsby
September 21, 2015

Sen. Lindsey Graham
September 8, 2015

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
September 2, 2015

August 2015


New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu
August 18, 2015

Rev. John Richard Bryant
August 12, 2015

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Paul Zukunft
August 5, 2015

UNC Chancellor Carol L. Folt
August 4, 2015

July 2015


Washington Capitals Coach Barry Trotz
July 8, 2015

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry
July 2, 2015

May 2015


Garrison Keillor
May 22, 2015

Richard Anderson, Delta Air Lines chief executive; W. Douglas Parker, chairman and chief executive of American Airlines Group; and Jeff Smisek, chairman, president and chief executive of United Airlines
May 15, 2015

Air Force Academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson
May 8, 2015

"Internet Evangelist" Vint Cerf
May 4, 2015

April 2015


U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
April 16, 2015

Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali
April 7, 2015

March 2015


IRS commissioner John Koskinen
March 31, 2015

FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg
March 27, 2015

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
March 9, 2015

February 2015


Eric Holder
February 17, 2015

January 2015


Cheryl LaFleur
January 27, 2015

William "Bro" Adams
January 15, 2015

December 2014


Gary Bettman & Ted Leonsis
December 5, 2014

November 2014


Anthony Fauci
November 21, 2014

Allison Macfarlane
November 17, 2014

Robert A. McDonald
November 7, 2014

October 2014


Scott Blackmun
October 21, 2014

Thomas Perez
October 20, 2014

Deborah F. Rutter
October 15, 2014

September 2014


Jim Webb
September 23, 2014

Larry J. Merlo
September 19, 2014

John G. Stumpf
September 17, 2014

Ken Burns
September 15, 2014

Ralph Nader & Grover Norquist
September 4, 2014

August 2014


Jacob Zuma
August 4, 2014

Denis Sassou-Nguesso
August 1, 2014

July 2014


Dr. Tom Frieden
July 22, 2014

Anthony Foxx
July 21, 2014

June 2014


Rep. John Dingell
June 27, 2014

M.Night Shyamalan
June 11, 2014

May 2014


Dr. Ben Carson
May 28, 2014

Donald Trump
May 27, 2014

Sen. Marco Rubio
May 13, 2014

April 2014


Deborah Hersman
April 21, 2014

Lewis Black
April 14, 2014

John Koskinen
April 2, 2014

March 2014


Creigh Deeds
March 31, 2014

Michael L. Lomax
March 25, 2014

February 2014


Buck McKeon
February 24, 2014

Ernest Moniz
February 19, 2014

January 2014


Christine Lagarde
January 15, 2014

Joseph H. Boardman
January 10, 2014

Gen. Frank Grass
January 9, 2014

Gen. Ray Odierno
January 7, 2014

December 2013


Ricky Skaggs
December 19, 2013

Dan Akerson
December 16, 2013

Annise Parker
December 10, 2013

November 2013


Gloria Steinem
November 18, 2013

Walter W. Bettinger II
November 11, 2013

Judd Gregg
November 7, 2013

Goldie Hawn
November 5, 2013

October 2013


Sally Jewell
October 31, 2013

George Takei
October 18, 2013

September 2013


Mitch Landrieu & Michael Nutter
September 26, 2013

Gov. Mary Fallin
September 17, 2013

Dr. Tom Frieden
September 10, 2013

August 2013


Benjamin Jealous
August 29, 2013

Wendy Davis
August 5, 2013

July 2013


Carly Fiorina
July 1, 2013

June 2013


Gary Pruitt
June 19, 2013

Tom Vilsack
June 5, 2013

Sebastián Piñera
June 4, 2013

Gerald Ford Journalism Awards
June 3, 2013

May 2013


Chris Evert
May 7, 2013

April 2013


Patrick R. Donahoe
April 19, 2013

Gil Kerlikowske
April 17, 2013

Ólafur Grímsson
April 15, 2013

Ken Burns
April 12, 2013

John H. Noseworthy, M.D.
April 9, 2013

March 2013


Robert L. Johnson
March 26, 2013

Kathy Calvin
March 20, 2013

Thomas Drake
March 15, 2013

Mariska Hargitay
March 13, 2013

February 2013


Christopher Dodd
February 15, 2013

January 2013


Antonio Villaraigosa
January 14, 2013

December 2012


Leon Panetta
December 18, 2012

James Taylor
December 7, 2012

November 2012


Admiral John Greenert
November 16, 2012

Roger Daltrey & Pete Townshend
November 12, 2012

Rodney Erickson
November 2, 2012

October 2012


Gen. Martin Dempsey
October 10, 2012

Arne Duncan
October 2, 2012

September 2012


James P. Hoffa
September 13, 2012

Tony Perkins
September 12, 2012

Bruce Allen
September 7, 2012

Kathleen Turner
September 6, 2012

August 2012


Gen. James F. Amos
August 28, 2012

Sister Mary Hughes
August 16, 2012

July 2012


Gwen Ifill & Judy Woodruff
July 24, 2012

Dr. Delos Cosgrove
July 20, 2012

Doug Parker
July 18, 2012

June 2012


The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Journalism Awards with Chris Matthews
June 4, 2012

May 2012


Anna Maria Chávez
May 30, 2012

Billie Jean King
May 12, 2012

Mike Rizzo
May 4, 2012

April 2012


Ken Salazar
April 24, 2012

Alec Baldwin
April 16, 2012

Michael Weiner
April 11, 2012

Douglas Shulman
April 5, 2012

Deepak Chopra
April 4, 2012

March 2012


Patrick Kennedy & Jim Ramstad
March 14, 2012

John Pistole
March 5, 2012

February 2012


Danica Patrick
February 21, 2012

January 2012


Janet Napolitano
January 30, 2012

December 2011


Jim Cantore
December 14, 2011

November 2011


Patrick Donahoe
November 21, 2011

Tom Brokaw
November 3, 2011

October 2011


Herman Cain
October 31, 2011

Harvey Levin
October 24, 2011

Natalie Cole
October 19, 2011

Ray LaHood
October 13, 2011

Ron Paul
October 5, 2011

Ken Burns
October 3, 2011

September 2011


Elon Musk
September 29, 2011

Rudy Giuliani
September 6, 2011

August 2011


Gary Johnson
August 19, 2011

July 2011


Michele Bachmann
July 28, 2011

Gregory B. Jaczko
July 18, 2011

Tim Armstrong & Arianna Huffington
July 15, 2011

Ted Leonsis
July 13, 2011

Charles F. Bolden, Jr.
July 1, 2011

June 2011


Gary Sinise
June 30, 2011

Sheila C. Bair
June 24, 2011

Gerald Ford Journalism Awards
June 14, 2011

Tom Vilsack
June 13, 2011

May 2011


Juan Williams
May 26, 2011

Richard Trumka
May 20, 2011

April 2011


T. Boone Pickens & Ted Turner
April 19, 2011

Douglas Shulman
April 6, 2011

March 2011


Harry Shearer
March 14, 2011

Vivian Schiller
March 7, 2011

February 2011


Ben Bernanke
February 3, 2011

January 2011


Tim Pawlenty
January 13, 2011

Gail J. McGovern
January 12, 2011

December 2010


Muhtar Kent
December 2, 2010

November 2010


Secretary Steven Chu
November 29, 2010

Jeff Bridges
November 10, 2010

October 2010


Ayaan Hirsi Ali
October 25, 2010

Condoleezza Rice
October 15, 2010

Gen. Norton Schwartz
October 12, 2010

Brian T. Moynihan
October 8, 2010

Margaret Hamburg
October 6, 2010

September 2010


Senators Cornyn & Menendez
September 30, 2010

Josette Sheeran
September 29, 2010

David Beckmann
September 13, 2010

Christina Romer
September 1, 2010

August 2010


Mitch Landrieu
August 9, 2010

July 2010


Arne Duncan
July 27, 2010

Don Blankenship
July 22, 2010

Tony Horton
July 16, 2010

Venus Williams
July 7, 2010

June 2010


Rajiv Shah
June 18, 2010

Paul Steiger
June 15, 2010

Ashley Judd
June 9, 2010

Gerald R. Ford Journalism
June 7, 2010

May 2010


Barbara Bush
May 26, 2010

Ted Leonsis
May 21, 2010

Tim Kaine
May 19, 2010

Thomas J. Donohue
May 14, 2010

April 2010


Secretary Ray Mabus
April 30, 2010

Sander Levin
April 19, 2010

Janet Napolitano
April 15, 2010

Dennis Quaid
April 12, 2010

Kathleen Sebelius
April 6, 2010

Douglas Shulman
April 5, 2010

March 2010


Dick Armey
March 15, 2010

Ron Kirk
March 9, 2010

Lisa Jackson
March 8, 2010

Mitt Romney
March 5, 2010

February 2010


Francis S. Collins, M.D.
February 26, 2010

Sec. Tom Vilsack
February 23, 2010

Adm. Thad Allen
February 12, 2010

Secretary Gary Locke
February 4, 2010

January 2010


Richard Trumka
January 11, 2010

December 2009


Karen Mills
December 14, 2009

Gary Knell
December 8, 2009

Joy Zinoman
December 4, 2009

November 2009


HSH Prince Albert II
November 30, 2009

Jim Leach
November 20, 2009

Deborah Hersman
November 16, 2009

Truett Cathy and Dan Cathy
November 13, 2009

October 2009


Capt. Wei Jiafu
October 26, 2009

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
October 23, 2009

Jorma Ollila
October 15, 2009

Jeff Dunham
October 13, 2009

John Potter
October 8, 2009

Mark Shriver/ Craig Fugate
October 5, 2009

September 2009


Ken Burns
September 28, 2009

Dr. Denis Cortese
September 18, 2009

Governor Jim Douglas
September 17, 2009

August 2009


Nick Jonas
August 24, 2009

July 2009


Senator John Kerry
July 29, 2009

Congressman Barney Frank
July 27, 2009

Congressman John Conyers
July 24, 2009

Gail McGovern
July 21, 2009

Morris Dees
July 10, 2009

Admiral Mike Mullen
July 8, 2009

Wayne Clough
July 1, 2009

June 2009


Robert Herz
June 26, 2009

Stan Kasten
June 25, 2009