Bessent confirms he’s moved to military base, blames the Wall Street Journal for printing location of house

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that he has moved from his Washington-area home to a military base after receiving death threats linked to Iran and accused the Wall Street Journal of putting his safety at risk by publishing a photograph that revealed his home’s location.Bessent said he relocated on the advice of the Secret Service but insisted he would not be intimidated by threats from Iranian leadership, in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box.“I’m not going to be a coward because they have initiated death threats against me,” Bessent said. “Eff the Iranian leadership,” he added.Bessent said the threats demonstrated that the administration’s economic pressure campaign against Tehran, known as Operation Economic Outcast, was working. He compared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to “a dangerous cornered animal” and said he was following security guidance while U.S. military personnel faced risks in the Gulf.The Treasury secretary criticized the Wall Street Journal for publishing a photograph of his home, alleging that the image contained geolocation information that could expose his whereabouts.“One of the reasons I’ve had to move is because the Wall Street Journal printed a photo of my house the day I bought it,” Bessent said, referring to a January 2025 article detailing his purchase of a historic Georgetown mansion. The article included aerial photos of the house.“It has geolocation on it, and in a highly irresponsible way, the editor, we pleaded with her not to print the location of my house, but she did anyway,” Bessent said.He called the publication of the photograph “highly irresponsible and dangerous,” adding that such practices “have to stop too.”Bessent is at least the fifth Trump administration official to relocate to military housing amid heightened security concerns.Early in President Donald Trump’s second term, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth moved near one another on Generals’ Row at Fort McNair, a historic Army installation in Southwest Washington.Scott Bessent becomes the fifth Trump official to move on to a military base. Here’s who else has movedWhite House chief of staff Stephen Miller and his family moved into military housing in October 2025 after facing protests and security concerns outside their former Arlington, Virginia, home. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also moved into military housing at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, while former Attorney General Pam Bondi lived in military housing during her tenure.The security concerns have extended to other U.S. personnel. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned the State Department in late October that Iranian plans to target Americans overseas had reached “advanced stages,” according to reports. Rubio said Monday that the administration had responded by moving people away from potential threats.