ICE Barbie Kristi Noem has given a prickly response after it was revealed that she is living rent-free in a plush apartment usually reserved for the chief of the Coast Guard.
The Department of Homeland Security secretary responded to a Washington Post exposé that said she is temporarily residing at Quarters 1, a residence at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C.
Speaking Monday on Fox News, Noem claimed that she had to move into the residence designated for the Coast Guard commandant because of the media. The host, Sean Hannity, said he understood that the homeland security secretary and her family were forced to move because of “threats against your life” and because of “doxxing” by the media.
Noem ignored the claim about her life being in danger and responded: “Temporarily. I still pay rent at an apartment in Navy Yard but had to leave there because the media put my address, my apartment, the logistics, where the windows were, and details out to the public and the threats were so much that, temporarily, I had to stay somewhere else,” she said.
The Daily Mail first published photos near her residence in Navy Yard, before The Washington Post “did it again,” according to Noem.
“That’s really the carelessness and the thoughtlessness and the heartlessness that the media operates in right now,” she added.
The claim appears to be less than the entire truth. The Washington Post reported that Noem was not paying for her free accommodation and did not disclose her previous address. The Daily Mail ran photographs of a large group of apartment buildings, not identifying where Noem lived. The former South Dakota governor also has a security detail to guard her—although it proved less than effective when a thief snatched her purse at a Capitol Hill burger chain.
Noem also managed to squeeze in a dig at her political opponents, calling them “socialists.” “We’re living in times where the socialists and Hakeem Jeffries are supporting criminals and illegals and prioritizing them over Americans, and I will continue to get up every day and fight for President Trump’s policies because they put Americans first,” she said.
The aforementioned Washington Post article cited officials familiar with the matter who said Noem’s special arrangement has “raised concern within the [Coast Guard] agency.”
One bone of contention is the fact that other Cabinet secretaries, from both Trump administrations, who have availed themselves of similar arrangements have paid for them, the Post reported.
Democrats have also called Noem’s new digs a waste of resources. “What are the optics?” Cynthia Brown, senior ethics counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in D.C., a left-leaning nonprofit, told the Post.
“And is this taking advantage of your individual position as a government official to benefit unduly?”
Noem, who in her position as DHS chief supervises the Coast Guard, risks creating the illusion that she is cashing in on her position. Current and retired Coast Guard officials have raised their eyebrows at the situation, especially given the lack of housing for high-ranking agency staff.
Former and current officials are also rankled by Noem’s frequent use of the Coast Guard Gulfstream aircraft, the Post reported. She is, however, allowed to use it for both personal and professional matters. Rules require the secretary to reimburse the government when she uses it for personal matters.
A DHS spokesperson previously defended Noem’s living arrangement, saying it came about because she was “so horribly doxxed and targeted that she is no longer able to safely live in her own apartment.”
A spokesperson for the agency, Tricia McLaughlin, told the Daily Beast that Noem has faced “a surge in death threats,” forcing the move to Quarters 1.
“Following the media’s publishing of the location of Secretary Noem’s Washington DC apartment, she has faced vicious doxing on the dark web and a surge in death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels, and criminals gangs that DHS targets,” McLaughlin said.
