DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is giving the United States Secret Service a taxpayer-funded glow-up.
Newly minted protective detail agents will soon receive two tailored suits upon graduating from training—an unprecedented perk for plainclothes agents who have historically footed the bill for their own wardrobes.
The reported push came after Noem was displeased with how a protective detail was dressed in suits they had purchased themselves, according to CNN.
Under a newly published five-year contract solicitation, each new protective detail graduate will receive two navy-blue suits, fully made in the United States, complete with name embroidery stitched inside the jacket.
The timing—and the tailoring—has raised eyebrows, with the agency having to identify funding within its existing budget to make it happen.
That’s notable because the Secret Service is no stranger to budget strain. Agents are currently working without pay during a partial government shutdown as lawmakers spar over immigration enforcement reforms tied to DHS funding.
While Secret Service personnel are deemed essential, their paychecks are on hold. Against that backdrop, free bespoke suits feel, at minimum, awkward.
A former senior law enforcement official told CNN the perk is unprecedented.
Agents previously couldn’t request reimbursement for suits—let alone receive them outright. Even some veterans inside the agency were reportedly surprised by the shift.
“With all the resource challenges the Secret Service has, this seems like an odd expenditure,” former agent Jon Wackrow told CNN.
Entry-level agents assigned to protective details typically earn between $70,000 and $90,000 annually, including benefits.
Leadership reportedly believes covering the cost of required professional attire could ease a financial burden and serve as an incentive for new recruits.
The Secret Service employs roughly 3,000 special agents and more than 1,300 Uniformed Division officers nationwide.
Protective detail assignments are among the agency’s most visible—and demanding—roles, requiring agents to blend into high-profile environments while remaining instantly ready to respond to threats.
But critics question the optics, especially during a funding standoff centered on immigration enforcement and federal spending priorities.
It also underscores how closely DHS leadership is now prioritizing image at a moment when the department is already under intense political pressure.
On this one I am totally with Kristi. The agents need to go to the Zegna boutique in Rapid City. Perhaps she and Corey can fly them there for a shopping spree in their luxuriously-appointed, DHS-rented Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the bar and queen bed. https://t.co/ruuJLdTGHO
— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway3d) February 20, 2026
For an agency tasked with guarding presidents, candidates, and foreign dignitaries, the symbolism of tailoring—down to embroidered names—may strike some as cosmetic.
Others see it as a sign that even the most security-focused institutions aren’t immune to a little runway politics.
Whether the contract moves forward during the shutdown remains unclear.
What is clear is this: in an agency built on quiet professionalism and low-profile protection, fashion is suddenly front and center. And taxpayers are picking up the tab.
The DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, however, told CNN that the move wasn’t about fashion. “This does not have to do with optics,” she said, noting that the goal is to adjust the inequities for the “men and women who are just starting their career.”
The post ICE Barbie Orders MAGA Makeover for Secret Service appeared first on The Daily Beast.
