DHS Secretary Noem’s Purse Containing $3,000 Stolen in Restaurant, Spokesperson Says

Noem ‘was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts,’ a DHS spokesperson said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks in Washington in a file photograph. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AFP via Getty Images

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse, containing her driver’s license, $3,000 in cash, and other items, was stolen at a restaurant in Washington on April 20, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed.

“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 spokesperson told The Epoch Times on April 21.

No other details were provided about the incident, including whether a suspect was identified.

Noem was asked about the incident on April 21 at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll and confirmed that it had occurred. She told NBC News that the matter had not yet been resolved, adding that the Secret Service is aware of the incident but that she hasn’t yet spoken to the agency.

The Epoch Times contacted the Secret Service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security’s jurisdiction, for comment. A spokesperson for the agency told news outlets on April 21 that it is still gathering details about the theft.

No other Trump administration officials, including the president, have commented on the matter.

In recent years, crime had been on the rise in Washington before it declined significantly in 2024 to the lowest levels seen in decades, according to a news release issued by the Department of Justice on Jan. 3.

In 2024, violent crime decreased by 35 percent year-over-year, homicides fell by 32 percent, robberies decreased by 39 percent, armed carjackings were down by 53 percent, and assaults dropped by 27 percent.

Washington experienced a surge in crime in 2023, including an increase in carjackings. In October 2023, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked at gunpoint while he was near his home in the city, while that same year, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was physically assaulted in the elevator of her Washington apartment building.

President Donald Trump has said that he wants Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to increase law enforcement in the city and to clean up homeless camps, creating a task force in March to make it “safe and beautiful.”

“As the capital city of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, it should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces,” he wrote in a statement. “America’s capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit.”

In February, Trump suggested that the federal government take over the nation’s capital because of homelessness and crime in the district.

“I think we should take over Washington, D.C.—make it safe,” he told reporters in February on Air Force One.

Trump said he liked Bowser personally but complained about the city’s governance.

“They’re not doing the job,” the president said. “Too much crime, too much—too many tents on the lawns—these magnificent lawns.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.