Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved to a military base, sources say
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looks on during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quietly moved to a military base in Washington in the last few weeks because of Iranian threats, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The severity and scope of the Iranian threats to Bessent are not immediately clear, and the Trump administration has not detailed the nature of the threats.
Bessent was reportedly living in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood until the move.
Other Cabinet officials including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are currently living on military bases while in Washington.
Bessent becomes the latest in a growing number of senior administration officials who have moved to military bases for their safety. Multiple senior administration officials were moved to protected housing or military bases last year, including White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told ABC News that the “Secretary 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.”
Bessent has led an economic pressure campaign against Iran — including sanctions that he said in September are meant to “economically asphyxiate this regime.”
A source familiar with the matter said a media report about the location of Bessent’s home increased security concerns. That media report was published in January 2025, and actions were only taken recently to move Bessent.
The Secret Service, which protects Bessent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The New York Times first reported Bessent’s relocation.
: (L-R) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Melania Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Weijia Jiang attend as Mentalist Oz Pearlman hosts The White House Correspondents Dinner at Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for OP)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump will attend the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Friday night, the White House said, after the annual dinner ended abruptly three months ago when shots rang out.
“Alongside all of you members of the media, the president looks forward to finishing what he started before a despicable assassination attempt derailed the original event back in April,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.
The spring dinner devolved into chaos after authorities say Cole Allen opened fire inside the Washington Hilton hotel, where thousands of journalists and guests gathered for the annual celebration of the First Amendment. The president and top government officials were also in attendance.
Allen pleaded not guilty in May to charges of attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
Secret Service officer Victor Gonzales was shot in the incident, but the bullet struck “his protective vest and [he] continued responding to the threat,” the Secret Service said.
Sean Curran, the Secret Service director, said in a briefing on Wednesday that the agency measures worked in April and that they are preparing for Friday’s rescheduled dinner.
Friday’s dinner is taking place at a different Washington, D.C., hotel, the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“We will always evaluate every site and, right now, we have an advance team there and they will take back and they will set up a plan to set that site up for success just like we did at the White House correspondents’ dinner at the Hilton,” Curran said.
The White House Correspondents’ Association announced on Tuesday that it will present a special award, the President’s Award for Exceptional Service, during Friday night’s dinner to Gonzales and the staff of the Washington Hilton.
“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely,” Weijia Jiang, who presided over the April dinner as WHCA president, said in a statement. “His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”
Jiang said the Hilton staff is being recognized for their “professionalism and commitment to service” by continuing to “take care of guests” after experiencing the “harrowing situation” themselves.
The shooting took place before the scheduled program that features the presentation of journalism awards, remarks from the president, and entertainment from an invited headliner. This year’s entertainer was mentalist Oz Pearlman, who will be back for the redo dinner, the association said.
The association added that it was determined “to finish the program that was interrupted.”
Signs of support for AP, CNN, MS NOW and POLITICO hang on the White House grounds on September 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Reporters and producers from news organizations that President Donald Trump barred from the White House were back on the grounds after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to restore their passes.
Earlier Thursday, the lawyer for media organizations requested an emergency hearing as early as Thursday, telling a federal judge that the government has “already repeatedly” violated his temporary restraining order after the three news organizations were denied entry into the White House earlier in the day.
“Defendants have already repeatedly violated the Court’s Order. Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court set a hearing by videoconference or teleconference as soon as possible this morning,” Ted Boutrous wrote.
Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the government to respond to the plaintiffs’ notice of non-compliance by 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday.
In a declaration submitted by the White House in response to Kelly’s order, officials said that access had been restored as of 9:55 a.m.ET.
Around noon on Thursday, the outlets reported that they were beginning to be granted access to the White House grounds.
CNN reporter Betsy Klein, who had her hard pass taken on Saturday, and others, walked through a White House gate shortly after noon after her hard pass was given back to her. MSNOW correspondent Laura Barrón-López was also back on the campus Thursday afternoon.
Politico reported one of its reporters had also been granted access.
Earlier Thursday, Kelly granted CNN, Politico and MS NOW a temporary restraining order requiring the White House to restore the outlets’ hard-pass press credentials.
The order requires the defendants, excluding President Donald Trump, as well as their agents and representatives, to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the White House hard-pass press credentials held by employees of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
Kelly granted the media organizations’ request in the ongoing case Cable News Networks, Inc. v. Trump after their credentials were revoked on Sept. 18, according to the court order.
Kelly expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s argument that the stories it cited as justification for revoking the outlets’ press credentials raised national security concerns.
Kelly described the stories identified by the administration as “routine” and said he was “skeptical” that the government’s stated interest in safeguarding national security was the actual motivation for revoking the hard passes. He also noted that Trump did not mention national security concerns when he announced the ban.
“Nothing in the record that predates this suit suggests that the revocation of Plaintiffs’ hard passes was motivated by national security concerns,” Kelly said in the filing. “Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was “banning” Plaintiffs from the White House — instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of Plaintiffs’ reporting.”
In a hearing on Wednesday, Kelly signaled that he believes the White House failed to follow the process established by earlier court cases to terminate a reporter’s credential.
“I think it is fair to say that the process that the court laid out in those two cases – the circuit laid out in those two cases – wasn’t followed here,” he said.
Boutrous focused on that due process argument near the end of the hearing, telling the court that the White House’s “Alice in Wonderland process” for terminating the credentials is “arbitrary” and “irrational.”
“It’s not due process when there’s been a prejudgment of the issue. Clearly, that’s happened,” Boutrous said. “They’re going to keep playing games, moving the ball. That’s not due process.”
Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik argued that the notice the White House provided in letters sent after 10 p.m. Tuesday night, days after the ban took effect, was enough. He also suggested the outlets’ responses might convince Trump to change his mind about the ban.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department is investigating embattled Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
The investigation is in part about his finances, according to sources. Mills’ office did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
MS NOW first reported the investigation.
Further details about the investigation were not immediately clear.
Mills was elected to the House to represent Florida’s 7th District in 2022 and reelected in 2024. He serves on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
Last November, the House Ethics Committee voted to establish an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations that Mills violated campaign finance laws and engaged in sexual misconduct and dating violence.
Regarding allegations of sexual misconduct, Mills issued a statement last year, before the ethics committee probe was lauched, stating in part: “These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions,” and he accused a former Florida primary opponent of “weaponizing the legal system to launch a political attack against the man who beat him.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
