Trump reports $45,000 holiday cash gifts to three White House aides
Financial disclosure forms show President Donald Trump gave $45,000 each to three senior White House staffers as holiday cash gifts, which the White House says comply with legal and ethical rules.
President Donald Trump listed cash gifts of $45,000 for the holidays to three senior White House aides in their annual executive-branch financial disclosure forms. The aides — Natalie Harp, Chamberlain Harris, deputy director of Oval Office operations, and Margo Martin, a communications adviser — each earn a salary of $150,000, according to publicly released White House documents.
The White House press office said the president has a long-standing practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his circle, including employees and aides from both his government service and private-sector career. It added that the gifts are unrelated to the aides’ official duties and are permissible under existing legal and ethical standards.
"The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties, and, therefore, are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards," the statement read.
Former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter criticized the practice, noting that federal statutes limit supplemental compensation for government employees. He wrote on social media that a White House staffer is not a personal doorman and emphasized that the salary is fixed by law.
The disclosures also noted that longtime Trump aide Walt Nauta reported receiving a $20,000 holiday gift from the president. Nauta had previously faced charges related to the handling of classified documents, which were later dismissed.
The Washington Post was the first outlet to report the cash gifts.