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Top members of Donald Trump’s White House are reportedly staying in homes reserved for top military officials in Washington, DC as they return from areas where their presence was often targeted by protests by many Democrats. Who make the capital region their home.
Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio Recently Trump has joined the growing list of Cabinet secretaries and advisers who have chosen to live in reserved military housing, with Rubio moving into “Generals Row” at Fort McNair and Miller also living in the area after leaving his digs in Arlington. atlantic Informed.
He joins the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who moved into military housing earlier this year, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is alone among his compatriots in finding some precedent for his decision to move in with Rubio on Generals Row.
White House and administration officials cited security concerns as reasons for the arrangement; Another senior White House official, whose identity was not disclosed atlanticA similar arrangement is in place due to “security concerns related to a specific foreign threat,” officials said.
While legal, this arrangement puts pressure on the short supply of such housing in the District of Columbia and may cause some discord among the country’s top commanders at a time when relations between political appointees and officials are already strained. Hegseth has much to thank for that division when he called on commanders in Virginia for a speech about the “warrior ethos” and aesthetics, which was reportedly not well received.
The practice of housing White House officials in such residences is very new. During the Obama era, Robert Gates made headlines when he became the first Cabinet-level official to choose such an arrangement, and Gates (then Secretary of Defense at the time) had to pay expensive rent to maintain the space: more than $6,500 per month in 2008 rental levels. Taking inflation into account, today that would be about $10,000 per month. That year, Congress passed a law to help Gates out, and in doing so paved the way for other Cabinet secretaries to join him.
It is unlikely that any of the officials named in the article have such high rents. according to noem Washington PostWhen her situation first came to light in August she was not paying rent at all; At the time, a DHS spokesperson claimed that the Secretary had been “doxxed”, saying such security measures were needed – although it is unclear what information about Noem might not have already been made public, and law enforcement has not identified any credible violent threats against her. In April, her handbag was stolen at a DC restaurant.
Post informed At the time, Noem was “living for free in a military house” at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, where she “paid no rent to live in the commandant’s house”.
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for clarification. Independent Thursday regarding whether she was now paying rent.
Others besides Noem have faced a cold reception from their new D.C. neighbors, including Miller and his wife, Katie, who were targeted by activists in Arlington over protests when they moved to the relatively liberal area. Earlier in October, it was reported that the Millers were selling their home in Virginia Amidst a barrage of condemnation from his neighbours.
according to atlanticMost civilian Cabinet officials are paying fair market rates calculated by the Army to rent housing in the Washington Arsenal and other neighborhoods. For Hegseth, who is married and has children, that amounts to $4,655.70 per month in rent for his residence, which had undergone renovations totaling $137,000 before he arrived.
For reference, this rate is on the cheap end of a full (more than three bedrooms) townhouse rental in DC’s neighboring Capitol Hill or Eastern Market neighborhoods.
Democrats were incensed when Hegseth moved to Barracks Row earlier this year, although as defense secretary he joined many of his predecessors in making that choice. Democrats accused him of accepting such an arrangement at a time when DOGE officials were waging an extreme cost-cutting campaign at the expense of the federal government and the issue of underfunding (large-scale privatization). Housing remains an issue for service members.
“Why is $49,900 necessary for emergency painting of this residence and how does that use of funds comply with the Administration’s stated goal of government efficiency?” Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote to Hegseth in February.
“We know that many servicemembers and their families currently live in unacceptable housing conditions including homes with mold, lead paint and other hazards. What commitment will you make to servicemembers to provide equally high-quality housing for themselves and their families?”