Scott Bessent Moves To Military Housing After Threats From Iran
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved into housing on a military base after threats from Iran, a move first reported by The New York Times.
Security concerns grew after a newspaper published a photograph that a source said could reveal the location of Bessent's Washington home.
A source told NBC News the concerns arose after The Wall Street Journal published the photo. The source said the image contained enough information to determine where Bessent lived, and that growing safety concerns after its publication ultimately forced the secretary to relocate.
"The news media has an obligation to act responsibly amid growing threats against public officials," the source said. Dow Jones, the Journal's parent company, declined to comment. The source did not detail how anyone might have used the image.
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'Will Not Be Deterred'
Treasury acknowledged threats from the Iranian regime in a statement about the secretary's plans to continue his work, but it has kept the nature of those threats private.
A Treasury spokesperson said Bessent "will not be deterred by the Iranian regime's threats" and remains committed to carrying out Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade.
The department credited those two measures with "collapsing Iran's economy," tying its response to the administration's pressure campaign against Tehran. Bessent's department framed his response around that economic pressure on Tehran rather than the move itself.
The reports did not identify which military installation is now the Treasury secretary's residence.
Not The First Official To Move
Bessent is the latest senior administration official reported to be living on a military installation.
The Atlantic previously reported that Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem lived in military housing while serving in the administration. Miller is now White House chief of staff, and Noem was homeland security secretary at the time.
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The New York Times has also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio lives in military housing, and it identified Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as another official doing the same. The reports point to military housing as a security option used by officials across several parts of the Trump administration.
Threats Reach Overseas
The concerns have also affected U.S. military operations abroad. A U.S. official told NBC News that several military aircraft were moved from a base in the United Kingdom amid Iranian threats, just days before reports of Bessent's move emerged.
Two men were charged last month after a security incident near the same base and were accused of trying to help Iran. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said at the time there were strong indications Iran had played a role. The aircraft move followed that earlier incident near the same installation.
President Donald Trump has faced his own security concerns over the war. He took a secret flight out of Turkey this summer amid those concerns.
Asked directly whether he was aware of credible Iranian threats against him personally, Trump said there was "a threat all the time" and that he was "No. 1 on their list." The NBC News source's criticism of the Journal, meanwhile, centered on the security risks of publishing a photograph of an official's home.