Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved from his Washington, D.C., area home to a U.S. military base following Iranian threats against his life, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
He is one of at least half a dozen senior Trump administration officials who have left private Washington-area residences for military or protected housing over the past year.
Bessent has led the U.S. sanctions and economic pressure campaign against Iran, known as Operation Economic Outcast, since August. The drive is intended to press Tehran to end attacks on shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
A Treasury Department spokesperson said Bessent “will not be deterred by the Iranian regime’s threats and remains committed to executing Operation Economic Outcast and maintaining the blockade, which together are collapsing Iran’s economy.”
The location of the military base was not disclosed, citing security concerns.
For readers, the move shows how far the confrontation with Iran now reaches inside the U.S. government. The cabinet member running the sanctions campaign is under armed protection because of threats against him. It leaves the administration with a practical problem: if a cabinet secretary’s address can be published and geolocated, other officials’ security is exposed too.
Why Bessent moved
Security concerns increased after the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of Bessent’s Georgetown mansion that allowed the home to be geolocated, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News. Bessent bought the home for $12.5 million shortly after his confirmation as Treasury secretary in January 2025.
U.S. national intelligence chief Jay Clayton warned last month that Iran had “substantially increased” its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond, and that Iranian plotting against U.S. officials had reached a “more advanced stage,” Al Jazeera reported.
Others who have moved include Stephen Miller, now White House chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, who was attorney general at the time. The U.S. military has also moved aircraft from two British bases in recent weeks amid reported threats from Iran, and refueling tankers at RAF Mildenhall were diverted to Germany.
On Wednesday, the U.S. charged three men over an alleged plot targeting RAF Fairford. Iran has repeatedly denied plotting to attack officials and people on U.S. soil. U.S. officials assess that Iran’s ability to carry out large-scale attacks on American soil is limited, but they treat several plots as credible, including an alleged murder-for-hire operation targeting Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign.
What set off the move was not a new intelligence report but a published photograph. An aerial image of a cabinet secretary’s home, printed in a national newspaper, turned an address into a target and forced the government to move him.
Why did Scott Bessent move to a military base? Because U.S. security officials determined that threats against him had intensified after the Wall Street Journal published an aerial photograph of his Georgetown mansion that could be geolocated. He was moved to an undisclosed military base for his safety.
The Treasury Department says Bessent will keep running the sanctions campaign from his new location. The administration has not said how long the arrangement will last or whether other officials will follow him. Iran continues to deny plotting against U.S. officials.
