House Oversight and Reform Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) is ratcheting up pressure on the Department of Homeland Security over whether former Secretary Kristi Noem is still living in government-owned housing nearly two months after her dismissal.
In a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Garcia cited a Wall Street Journal report indicating Noem has continued to occupy a waterfront residence on a military base in Washington, D.C., even after being terminated from her post on March 5. Garcia demanded the department turn over any lease agreements, contracts, or special permissions that would allow her to stay in Coast Guard housing at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling or any other DHS property.
“The ongoing use of Coast Guard housing by a former DHS official raises concerns of waste, fraud, and abuse of government resources under your supervision,” Garcia wrote. He also pressed Mullin on whether Noem has been paying rent, requesting “all evidence of rental payments or reimbursements paid to the federal government by Kristi Noem” for the property.
The California Democrat further asked for any internal memos or policies DHS relied on to justify Noem’s use of the residence both during her tenure and after her removal. She was subsequently appointed special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas” initiative. Garcia set a May 15 deadline for the materials.
“Kristi Noem got fired in March and she is still living rent-free in a government home that belongs to the Coast Guard. The Trump Administration can’t explain why, nor do they seem to care,” Garcia said in a statement. “Secretary Mullin owes us answers and Noem must pack her bags and go.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. The controversy first emerged in August, when DHS justified the housing arrangement by citing death threats against Noem. At the time, the department said that after media outlets published the location of her D.C. apartment, she faced “vicious doxing on the dark web and a surge in death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels, and criminal gangs that DHS targets.”
In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on March 4—just one day before her removal—Noem defended living in Coast Guard housing but pushed back on reports that she was staying in the commandant’s residence or not paying rent. “Let me clarify a couple things. I’m not in the Commandant’s house. I’m in a Coast Guard House, but not the Commandant’s house,” she said. “And I will also tell you that I rent that facility. I rent where I stay, and pay personal dollars to do that.”
The controversy adds to broader questions about government accountability and resource management, issues that have contributed to historically low public trust in government. Garcia’s inquiry is the latest in a series of oversight actions targeting the Trump administration’s handling of federal property and personnel.
