Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reported that her handbag was stolen over the weekend, including her personal security badge for DHS facilities.
Noem, in charge of a federal agency that oversees America’s border security as well as other sensitive matters including counterterrorism efforts, also lost her apartment keys, more than $3,000 in cash, and a number of blank checks to the thief, according to CNN. A number of less-expensive other personal items were also in the bag at at the time, the network reported Monday. Her driver’s license and passport were stolen as well.
According to CNN, an unknown white male was seen taking the bag. Secret Service agents are investigating the incident by reviewing security footage from the downtown Washington D.C. restaurant where Noem dined Sunday evening. It wasn’t immediately clear if Noem was at the table at the time the bag was snatched.
Noem joined the Department of Homeland Security this year after once being considered as a potential running mate for the president in 2024. She formerly served as the governor of South Dakota.
The secretary confirmed the investigation was ongoing on Monday, speaking to CNN on the sidelines of the White House Easter Egg Roll.
"We can confirm this [the handbag] was stolen. Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren — she was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts,” a DHS official told The Independent on Monday afternoon.
She was most recently in the headlines in March after a controversial visit to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison facility, where the US has sent more than 200 Venezuelan migrants since the beginning of the second Trump administration. At the facility, Noem filmed a video message with dozens of shirtless, bald male prisoners providing a bizarre backdrop.
Noem also ruffled feathers among more senior employees at the agency shortly after coming to the job in January when she posted on social media about an ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in a manner that some officials thought could jeopardize its effectiveness, the Wall Street Journal reported.
