Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she felt something brush against her leg as a thief was dragging away her purse at a Washington restaurant on Sunday.
Noem said she thought one of her grandchildren who was dining with her had kicked her by accident.
“I think I was a busy grandma with four grandkids under the age of 4, and I was taking care of them and feeding them food and enjoying my family, yeah, but certainly had my purse even touching my feet,” she said.
Authorities said a man wearing a mask took Noem’s bag, which contained $3,000, her DHS access card, passport, makeup bag, apartment key and other items.”It was kind of shocking, actually, because it was sitting right by my feet, actually felt my purse, he hooked it with his foot and dragged it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it,” Noem said on “The Vince Show” podcast.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak during a tour, Mar. 17, 2025, in Kodiak, Alaska.
Alex Brandon/AP
“It was professionally done,” Noem said. “It tells me that this happens all the time to people, and that they live in communities where this is a danger.”
Noem said she wasn’t sure if she was targeted because she was the DHS secretary.
A DHS official said the secretary had the cash with her because her family was in town and she was treating them to Easter festivities.
“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,” the official said.
The Secret Service is investigating, according to the DHS official. The Secret Service deferred any comment on the incident to DHS. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has not commented on the case.
