Donald Trump gave four White House aides cash gifts totalling $155,000 last year, including $45,000 payments to Natalie Harp, Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris, newly published financial disclosures show.
Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, reported receiving a further $20,000 from the president. The payments were recorded in the aides’ annual declarations as gifts “for the holidays” and were made separately from their government salaries.
The disclosures, published by the White House late last week, do not specify when the money was handed over. Three of the filings list Mr Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida address as the source, while Ms Harris’s names his Washington address.
Harp, Martin and Harris each earn $150,000 a year in their White House roles, meaning the gifts represented almost a third of their annual salaries. Nauta’s reported salary is $175,000.
A White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle, said Mr Trump had a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including employees and aides during both his government service and private-sector career.
“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,” Ingle said.
Federal employees are generally barred from receiving outside compensation for their government work. The White House position is that the payments were personal gifts rather than compensation connected to the recipients’ official duties.
Government ethics rules also restrict officials from accepting gifts from subordinates or people paid less than them. However, the regulations do not impose the same prohibition on subordinates accepting gifts from their superiors.
Trump aides named in the disclosures
Harp, 35, is a special assistant and executive assistant to the president and is frequently seen accompanying Mr Trump. She joined the White House after he returned to office in January 2025, having gained the nickname “the human printer” during his 2024 campaign for carrying a portable printer to provide him with printed news reports and social media posts.
Martin, 31, is a special assistant and communications adviser who plays a prominent role in producing and publishing selected videos of the president. She worked in the White House during Mr Trump’s first administration and later continued to work for him in Palm Beach.
Harris, 26, is deputy director of Oval Office operations and previously served as Mr Trump’s executive assistant while he was out of office. She was also appointed this year to the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews major construction projects in Washington, including proposed work connected with the White House.
Nauta, 43, is a longtime aide who served as Mr Trump’s personal assistant and valet during his first administration. He continued working for the president in Florida between his two terms before returning to the White House.
