Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s bag has been stolen. There was $3,000 cash inside the bag. The bag was stolen while she was eating dinner at a Washington, DC, restaurant on Sunday at the Capital Burger about one mile northeast of the White House.
As DHS secretary, Noem, 53, oversees one of President Donald Trump’s second-term major concerns, border security.
A source told The New York Post that the DHS secretary had just finished paying when she felt a brush against her leg, which she initially thought was one of her grandchildren, before realising her bag was missing.
“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 statement by the DHS said.
A DHS spokesperson said Noem’s driver’s license, passport, DHS badge, makeup, checks, bank card, healthcare card, medication, and apartment keys were in Noem’s bag. The stolen pocketbook was described in a complaint filed with local police as a Louis Vuitton Clemence Purse, which retails at $600 on the label’s website.
According to the report, it was placed on the ground at Noem’s table when snatched.
Security footage reviewed by the Secret Service showed a white man in a N95 surgical mask, dark pants, a “fur-type” collar and a ball cap snatching Noem’s bag before leaving the restaurant.
The Post reported that the suspect had not been identified as of Monday afternoon. The suspect glanced around the restaurant before grabbing Noem’s bag, covering it with his jacket and then hustling out of the restaurant, according to sources who described the video.
It was unclear if she had her security detail inside the restaurant.
