Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem opened up about the theft of her purse, which contained $3,000 in cash, while she was dining with her family at a Washington, D.C., restaurant over the weekend.
In an interview with the “VINCE” show released Wednesday, Noem said she has yet to retrieve the bag, describing the incident as “shocking.”
Noem said the theft was “professionally done,” confirming that the person who stole her bag was wearing a medical mask.
“He hooked [the purse] with his foot and drug it a few steps away and dropped a coat over it and took it,” Noem told host Vince Coglianese. “I felt it. But I thought it was my grandkids kicking me in the legs.”
The man wore dark clothes and sat at a nearby table at Capital Burger in downtown Washington with his back to Noem, who was having dinner with family, before moving to steal the bag with his foot, CNN reported, citing sources who viewed surveillance footage of the incident. Noem noticed her purse was missing after getting up from the table, according to the network.
Asked if she thought she was targeted because of her role in the administration, Noem said she wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know. There’s an investigation going on,” she said. “I was a busy grandma with four kids, four grandkids under the age of 4, and I was taking care of them and feeding them food and enjoying my family, but certainly had my purse even touching my feet.”
“That’s how vulnerable people can be,” she added.
Beside the large amount of cash, her purse also included her government identification, passport, driver’s license, checkbook, makeup and medication.
While Noem did not address in the interview why she had $3,000 in cash on hand, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security previously told HuffPost it was to “treat her family to dinner, activities, and Easter gifts.”