President Donald Trump gave tens of thousands of dollars in holiday cash gifts to four White House aides last year, according to financial disclosures released by the administration.
Executive assistant Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris each received $45,000, while director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta received $20,000.
The payments were disclosed in the aides’ annual financial forms and were first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post.
The $45,000 payments amounted to roughly one-third of the annual federal salaries of Harp, Martin and Harris, who each earn $150,000, according to the White House personnel report to Congress.
Nauta receives an annual salary of $175,000.
The payments raised ethics concerns because federal employees are generally prohibited by statute from receiving compensation beyond their government salaries.
Richard W. Painter, a law professor who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007 under President George W. Bush, criticized the payments publicly.
The disclosures described the $45,000 payments as “Cash Gift for Holidays.”
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the gifts complied with applicable ethics rules and reflected Trump’s longstanding practice of giving Christmas presents to people around him, including employees and aides in government and private business.
Ingle said the payments were unrelated to the recipients’ official government duties and were therefore permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.
The White House did not say whether other staff members received similar gifts.
Harp and Nauta are among Trump’s closest aides and have extensive access to the president.
Harp also helps manage Trump’s Truth Social account and provides him with favorable news coverage using a portable printer.
Martin has worked for Trump since his first White House term and returned after his 2024 election victory.
Harris was appointed earlier this year to the US Commission of Fine Arts.
Nauta, a former White House valet, previously faced federal accusations related to classified documents Trump took after his first term.
He pleaded not guilty, and the case was later dropped.