The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, got caught living rent-free in a residence designated for the commandant of the Coast Guard, claiming she feared for her safety. Now she’s trying to explain herself, asking supporters to feel sorry for her as social media goes after her.
Noem was living in a condominium in the Navy Yard neighborhood until July. After the British tabloid Daily Mail reported where she lived, Noem says she was forced to move because the media doxxed her.
“I had to leave there because the media put my address, my apartment, 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 explained in an interview on Fox News.
“So again, The Washington Post just this week did it again, and that’s really the carelessness and the thoughtlessness and the heartlessness that the media operates in right now,” she added.
Homeland Security said after several death threats and media reports about where she lived, officials took the unusual step of relocating her to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Social media wasn’t holding back in reacting to Noem’s unusual free housing situation.
“She reminds me of a delinquent middle school student. This is so pathetic,” traxdalley2940 said on Threads.
And this harsh observation from Gregory Lawrence on Threads, “You’re a criminal!!…iron bars and concrete blocks is where you should live.”
“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,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, according to The Hill.
“Due to threats and security concerns, she has been forced to temporarily stay in secure military housing,” McLaughlin continued.
“Secretary Noem continues to pay rent for her Navy Yard residence,” she added as she called the media out for reporting on Noem’s residence, again.
The Washington Post was the first to report that Noem was living in the Commandant’s house.
Part of the harsh criticism of Noem, as Democrats have pointed out, is over Noem’s improper use of military resources. Cabinet officials pay market value to live in federal housing that would otherwise be used for top military officials.
“Federal government coffers are not Noem’s personal piggy bank, and Coast Guard service members are not her servants. Noem must pay her part. If she requires accommodations for her security, she should brief Congress and request appropriate resources—not take over property from the Coast Guard,” Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson said in a statement.
Taking orders from Trump, Noem has embarked on a brutal crackdown on unauthorized migrants in the U.S over the past six months, arresting both criminals and plenty of law-abiding immigrants trying to support their families, some of whom have been in the U.S. for decades, with American children.
Immigration experts have pointed out that if the U.S. immigration system weren’t so broken, many of these people would already be U.S. citizens.
Threads user Michael Boyd had this to say to Noem over her housing woes, “What about you(r) threat to the American public. The carelessness of your organization deporting and detaining American citizens. You’re trampling all over our rights. You deserve every inconvenience you get. You earned it.”
Another issue dogging Noem is her relationship with Trump’s 2016 campaign manager and longtime ally, Cory Lewandowski. Lewandowski has become Noem’s de facto chief of staff at DHS and is rumored to be having an affair with her, even though both are married, according to news reports. Amid White House worries over the situation, Noem has not yet officially filled the open chief of staff position at DHS.
How close Noem and Lewandowski are is unclear, as both have denied having an affair with each other.
But Lewandowski is often by her side. He has traveled with her to meet with foreign leaders in Mexico, Argentina, Israel, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rico. And CNN has reported that he has approved billions in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to red states, ordered polygraph testing on DHS staff after media leaks, demanded the termination of government workers, and put others on leave for minor infractions such as using gender pronouns in emails.
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