Cabinet members have traditionally lived in the wealthy enclaves of Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia. But instead of choosing homes in Georgetown, Kalorama, McLean or Great Falls, some officials in Donald Trump‘s Cabinet and among his White House staff — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem — are living in secure military housing, citing safety concerns. In doing so, they are embracing the literal architecture of authoritarianism.
The security concerns are very real. According to a recent study, violent online rhetoric against prominent public officials in the U.S. increased dramatically between 2021 and 2025. But for most, if not all of American history, senior government officials accepted the personal risk as part of the job. The symbolism of living among their fellow Americans mattered. It is a damning indictment of the Trump administration that its policies are so unpopular and have caused so much pain and anger among the American people that senior officials are hiding from them.
