Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s personal bag was stolen with $3,000 in cash inside during a dinner outing at a Washington, DC, restaurant Sunday.
Noem, 53, had been dining at The Capital Burger about one mile northeast of the White House.
A person familiar with the case told The Post the DHS secretary had just finished paying when she felt a brush against her leg — which she initially thought was one of her grandchildren before realizing her bag was missing.
“Her entire family was in town, including her children and grandchildren — she was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts,” DHS said in a statement.
Noem’s bag also contained her driver’s license, passport, DHS badge, makeup, checks, bank card, healthcare card, medication, and apartment keys, a DHS spokesperson said.
The stolen pocketbook had a Louis Vuitton Clemence Purse inside, which retails at $600 on the label’s website, according to a complaint filed with local police.
It was placed on the ground at Noem’s table when it was snatched, according to the report.
Security footage reviewed by the Secret Service showed a white man in a N95 surgical mask, dark pants, a “fur-type” collar and a ball cap snatching Noem’s bag before leaving the restaurant. The suspect had not been identified as of Monday afternoon.
The suspect glanced around the restaurant before grabbing Noem’s bag, covering it with his jacket and then hustling out of the restaurant, according to sources who described the video.
The Secret Service provides security for the secretary, as it does for the president and other high-ranking officials. It was unclear whether the detail was inside the restaurant at the time of the robbery.
