Members of the Trump government move to military bases for security

WashingtonBehind the pink sunglasses, Jane, a middle-aged Black woman, listlessly watches as her chihuahua lifts its leg on the lawn bordering Fort McNair military base, southwest of Washington. Behind the red brick walls and fences with signs reading "Military Zone. No photos or videos allowed," there is an entire residential area for high-ranking generals with stately homes, a gym, and even a fire station. Now, for a few months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also live there. They have moved for security reasons, given the growing climate of political violence in the United States. "I had heard that they have moved here now. With the world the way it is now, living next door gives me a certain sense of security," explains Jane. Last Saturday, Cole Thomas Allen stormed the Hotel Washington Hilton to attempt an attack on President Donald Trump. In the room, a good part of the US government was present.

Undoubtedly, the area around Fort McNair is a quiet area. However, on days when there is a game at Audi Field stadium, the roar from the stands must be heard. The calm that prevails is similar to that of the city's wealthy suburbs, although the buildings in front of the base are not maximalist houses but humble apartment blocks. The guarantor of order here is not the power of capital, but the respect imposed by the military presence. Some of the dilapidated houses that still remain are a vestige of when, in the 1950s, Southwest was one of the poorest areas in the capital, marked by shootings and high crime rates.

Seventy years after the neighborhood was an area to avoid, here neighbors walk their dogs and from time to time a cyclist passes by, taking advantage of the spring sun to cycle along the banks of the Anacostia River. The military base is located on a kind of peninsula where the Anacostia flows into the Potomac River. Although the pointed fences at the entrance separate the area from the rest of the city, the street continues to descend into the base. The green grass inside, bordering the asphalt, is the same color as the one Jane walks on with her dog. The ash trees are also the same ones that provide shade on both sides of the street. In the background, past the control booths, there is an imposing American flag waving from the top of a white pole. Although it is a military base, the people seen walking inside are dressed in civilian clothes.

It is unusual for Hegseth and Rubio to live here. Normally, cabinet members opt to stay in the colonial houses of Georgetown, in the embassy area of Kalorama, or in the wealthy and isolated neighborhoods of Northern Virginia. For example, at Compass Coffee in Georgetown, which overlooks Wisconsin Avenue, it is relatively easy to run into the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, buying a coffee. But lately, more and more officials from the Trump administration are moving into military facilities like Fort McNair for security reasons. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem also live in similar facilities in other parts of the city. Although Noem might already be packing her bags. Once the job within the cabinet ends, access to these types of rentals ends.

The relocation of executive members to military bases is also a further symptom of how political violence has settled into American society and raises many questions about the country's current state. Jane admits she wasn't surprised by Saturday's attack on Trump at the Washington Hilton. She lets out a cynical laugh when I ask if she remembers how she reacted when the Butler attack occurred – the first against the Republican, which happened in July 2024 – and how she reacted over the weekend seeing the images from the correspondents' dinner. "It's true they are different from each other. But that there was another attack against him didn't surprise me. People are tired of it," she states. Cole traveled by train from California with multiple weapons to attempt to attack not only the president but also all members of his cabinet, according to the manifesto attributed to him.

In another unusual move, at the correspondents' dinner there wasn't only the president and the vice president, J.D. Vance. A good number of government officials were also among the diners, including Rubio, Hegseth, and Miller. Separately, there was also the FBI director, Kash Patel; the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. Although it seems that members of the Trump administration are trying to increase security in their daily lives, the meeting at the Hilton was not classified as a special national security event.Violence enters normality

Tuesday, three days after the attack, conversations about that night floated in the Congressional press room. Some with more epic flair than others. But all with the same tired tone of déjà-vu that is commented on while waiting for the politician of the moment to appear. In that case it was King Charles III. it was King Charles III. A colleague who was at the dinner told me that he hadn't seen the gravity of the event until European televisions started calling him to give his testimony. According to him, between the stress of being live and the fact that it wasn't the first time they had tried to kill Trump, he hadn't had time to process the real danger of the moment. And consequently, the gravity.

Jane also believes that the people around her are "immune" to violence. "Violence is everywhere. On social media we do nothing but watch videos, like when they murdered Charlie Kirk, and other images of assassination attempts. And then you have the younger generations who are growing up with these things. So, what do you think a ten or fifteen-year-old boy thinks who receives this daily, whether through social media or the news? Imagine when they are forty years old. For them, it's the day-to-day: gun violence, active shooter drills... I myself have one of these drills at work soon. I mean, this is becoming a potential day-to-day situation that we are supposed to deal with. And yes, it's normalized," she concludes with concern.

Around the corner, after walking for a while along the wall until reaching the entrance, two men are taking pictures of the building. Neither of them wants to identify themselves because they say they are on duty. One of them wears a pin with the initials of the DHS (the Department of Homeland Security) on the lanyard from which hangs what appears to be an ID, but which is turned face down. "This is all the fault of the liberals, of the left-wing crazies," replies the man not wearing the pin. His small blue eyes light up when he starts talking about Saturday's attack. When asked if he was surprised it happened again, he says no. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried again."

His companion, wearing sunglasses, tries to lower the tension a bit: "In the end, it's just a few crazies, but let me tell you something: there are far more people who love Trump than people who hate him. And if they try to get rid of him, they will end up breaking the country."

The man with the pin initially denies that the level of political violence has increased. But when I remind him that in just two years they have tried to kill Trump three times (the attack in Butler, the one in Palm Beach, and the one at the Hilton), he retracts: "Well, yes, it has increased, actually. This didn't happen before." Beyond the assassination attempts, in the last two years the country has witnessed notable cases of political violence. In addition to the murder of the far-right influencer, Charlie Kirk, a Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota and her husband were also murdered in their home last June. The assassin also tried to kill another Democratic congressman, whom he left seriously injured. Political violence is spreading in all directions, but the man without the pin, who seems tired of the conversation, adds: "It's the left-wing lunatics' fault." Trump has also been blaming the opposition, using these same words.