Another Trump Official Living on Military Base: Report - Newsweek
Attorney General Todd Blanche has been living at a military installation in the Washington, D.C., area for months, according to a new report, adding another senior Trump administration official to a growing list of civilians reported to be living in military housing.
Three sources familiar with the arrangement told Fox News Digital that Blanche moved onto a military installation earlier this year. One source did not elaborate on the reason for the move. Fox News said it contacted the Justice Department for comment.
Blanche is among several senior administration officials whose residential arrangements have drawn attention as security concerns have prompted moves from private homes to military installations or other protected government housing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly relocated to a military base amid threats linked to Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have been reported to live at Fort McNair in Washington. White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has also been reported to have moved into military housing.
The reported relocations raise questions about how common it is for civilian political appointees to live on military installations, whether the arrangements have historical parallels, and how they affect housing traditionally used by military personnel.
Public reporting has not established a definitive count of Trump administration officials living in military housing in the Washington area.
At least six senior Trump administration political appointees had moved into military housing in the Washington area by October 2025, according to reporting by The Atlantic. The group included Rubio, Hegseth, Miller, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, along with another senior White House official whose identity was not disclosed.
A New York Times report in March numbered at least half a dozen current or former Trump administration officials who had moved or explored moving into military housing in the Washington area.
The reasons for the reported moves have varied. Miller and his wife moved after protests outside their Arlington, Virginia, home and the public disclosure of their address, The Atlantic reported.
Noem moved into housing at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Bessent's recent relocation followed reported concerns about threats linked to Iran, as well as security concerns after information identifying his Georgetown home was published.
The reports do not establish that every official is living on a military base. Some accounts describe military installations, while others refer more broadly to protected government housing. The locations of Blanche's and Bessent's reported residences have not been publicly identified in the reports cited here.
There is precedent for senior civilian officials, particularly those overseeing national security, living in military housing. But the concentration of political appointees reported to be doing so during the Trump administration appears to have few modern parallels.
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates lived in government housing near the Pentagon while serving under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, from 2006 to 2011.
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis lived in military housing during Trump's first administration, serving as Pentagon chief from 2017 to 2019. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also served as CIA director, lived at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall during Trump's first administration. He led the CIA from 2017 to 2018 and the State Department from 2018 to 2021.
The practice of military leaders living in official military residences goes back much further. During World War II, senior Army officers occupied homes at Fort Myer in Virginia, including residences along what became known as Generals' Row. Those quarters were intended for military commanders, however, rather than civilian political appointees.
The September 11 attacks also prompted the government to activate continuity-of-government plans, which included relocating some officials and personnel to secure locations so federal operations could continue in an emergency. Those temporary emergency relocations were different from civilian officials taking up residence in military housing as their homes.
The number of civilian political appointees living on military installations at the same time appears to have few modern parallels. The Atlantic reported in October 2025 that there was no known record of so many political appointees living on military bases simultaneously, while The New York Times later described the practice as having no modern precedent.
The available reporting does not provide a definitive count of civilian officials currently occupying military housing, a complete list of the residences involved, or a clear picture of how the arrangements affect military personnel.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Defense for information about how many civilian officials are living in military housing in the Washington area, the policies governing those arrangements and whether they have affected housing available to military personnel.
The cost of the housing has also drawn attention. The Times reported that Hegseth was paying $4,655.70 per month to live in a residence at Fort McNair traditionally reserved for the Army's vice chief of staff.
Moving officials onto secure installations can provide additional protection and may reduce the need for security arrangements at private residences. But the growing number of reported moves has also raised questions about how civilian officials qualify for military housing and how the government balances their security needs with the housing requirements of military personnel.
The Pentagon's policies on civilian occupancy, the number of officials approved to live in military housing and the effect on available residences remain important questions in assessing how unusual the current arrangements are. The answers could help establish whether the current concentration of civilian officials in military housing reflects an expansion of a longstanding practice or a significant departure from it.
Newsweekβs reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
