Hasan Minhaj will perform at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April. File Photo by Steven Ferdman/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Comedians Kenan Thompson and Hasan Minhaj will headline the 2020 White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The White House Correspondents' Association announced in a press release Tuesday that Thompson, 41, will host the event April 25 in Washington, D.C. Minhaj will perform as the evening's featured entertainer.


Thompson is the longest-tenured cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, while Minhaj hosts the Netflix series Patriot Act.

"Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America. I'm thrilled they'll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy," WHCA president Jonathan Karl said. "We're looking forward to a lively event honoring the most important political journalism of the past year."

This year's dinner will feature two new awards: The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists. The WHCA also presents the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage and the Merriman Smith Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.

In addition, the event will feature the inaugural presentation of the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, given by the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications to recognize outstanding statehouse reporting.

Thompson is an actor and comedian who came to fame on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That. He joined SNL in 2003 and described the show as "the best job in the world" in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May.

Minhaj previously performed at the 2017 WHCA Dinner. He came to fame on the Comedy Central late-night talk show The Daily Show, and has also released the Netflix stand-up comedy special Homecoming King.