President Donald Trump has admitted that some senior members of his administration are unnecessarily living in military housing.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller all live in Washington-area military housing for security reasons.
Rubio and Hegseth live on “Generals’ Row“ at Fort McNair, an Army enclave, while ousted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has yet to vacate the waterfront home on a D.C. military base she moved into after supposed threats related to her job.
During his Sunday interview on 60 Minutes, one day after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Trump was asked by correspondent Norah O’Donnell if he believed there was a link between the divisive political violence in the U.S. and his staff living on secure military bases because of potential threats against them due to their jobs.
“Well, they choose to,” Trump said of the living arrangements. “I’m not sure that... ah, they need to. They also have nice places, you know? Democrats did the same thing. Some of the housing on the military bases is very nice. I’m not sure they do it necessarily for violence, but probably... it’s not the worst thing in the world.”
“Look, they’re... they’re doing... we are consequential,” the 79-year-old continued. “This is a consequential presidency. I have a great Cabinet, and they do things that are very good, but some people... you know, they’re good for us. They’re not good for other people.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
The president then diverted the conversation back to his war with Iran, saying they were “crazy” because “they’re not gonna have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said that meant “therefore they’re not happy. And when they’re not happy, people do things that are violent.”
Seemingly referring to the three reported assassination attempts against him, Trump said, “Now, I’m not tracing anything back to them, but certainly if they had a shot, they’d probably take it.”
He continued, “So when you’re a consequential president or if you have a consequential administration, things happen that wouldn’t happen if you’re Sleepy Joe Biden.”
The president and other Republicans have previously blamed “radical left scum” and “radical left Democrats” for the political division in the U.S.
Former members of Trump’s first Cabinet, including ex-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and ex-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, also lived in secure military housing.
However, a report in The New York Times in March cited former historians and officials who said there was concern that the second Trump administration appears to be the first to “take such widespread advantage of taxpayer-funded military housing to accommodate political appointees who do not have a direct connection to the military.”
Miller and his wife, Katie, moved into their military home last October. They left their Arlington base after Katie, a podcast host, was confronted by a woman there.
“To the person who tried to threaten me at my home this morning: We will not back down. We will not be afraid. We will not run scared,” Katie wrote on X at the time. The Millers moved onto the base and listed their home for sale.
Hegseth moved into his home, which is typically occupied by the Army’s chief of staff, at Fort McNair in D.C. last year. A Defense Department official told The New York Times that Hegseth was paying $4,655.70 a month to live in the home, located a few miles from the Pentagon.
Noem moved into a house usually reserved for Coast Guard commandants on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling last August, claiming she needed protection after receiving threats.
However, she remains in the property after losing her job, The Wall Street Journal reported last week, but is expected to vacate before the lease expires.
“I rent that facility. I rent where I stay and pay personal dollars to do that,” Noem told the House Judiciary Committee.
