President Donald Trump handed out $45,000 in cash gifts to three of his closest White House aides, according to newly released financial disclosure forms, and a fourth aide received $20,000 — payments that ethics experts say sit uneasily beside a federal law barring outside compensation for executive branch employees. The recipients were executive assistant Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin, deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris, and director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta.
The gifts were first uncovered earlier through required annual financial disclosure filings and were reported by Spectrum News, which noted the administration released the disclosures documenting the payments. The Washington Post was first to report the disclosures. Harp, Martin and Harris each earn $150,000 annually in taxpayer-funded salary, while Nauta earns $175,000 — meaning the $45,000 gifts to the three top aides equaled nearly 30 percent of their official government pay, a comparison drawn from the same annual payroll disclosures.
What the White House Says About the Payments
A White House official said Trump has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including employees and aides, and maintained the cash gifts were not related to the individuals' official government duties. The official framed the cash as entirely separate from official White House business. The official also said cash gifts are permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards, though the official did not say whether other staffers received similar gifts.
That defense has raised questions about whether cash gifts to federal employees could amount to impermissible supplementation of their government salaries, according to the eCFR. The potential legal consequences of such an arrangement remain unresolved. According to GovInfo's text of 18 U.S.C. §209, an executive-branch employee may not receive "any salary, or supplementation of his Government salary, from a private source" as compensation for government services. According to Office of Government Ethics training materials, executive-branch employees are covered by 5 C.F.R. part 2635, while 18 U.S.C. §209 separately addresses supplementation of government salaries. According to a Nov. 29, 1978, U.S. Department of Justice memorandum, living expenses incurred because of government service are a classic example of salary supplementation prohibited by 18 U.S.C. §209. By contrast, according to a May 13, 1981, U.S. Department of Justice memorandum, a private party's payment of a legal fee was not considered salary supplementation under 18 U.S.C. §209.
Ethics Experts Split on Whether the Line Was Crossed
Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, told The Washington Post the $45,000 cash gifts appear to raise concerns about unlawfully subsidizing federal employees to make government service financially viable.
The legal question remains unsettled, while the size of the payments has drawn scrutiny.
Who Are the Aides Receiving the Money
Harp carried a portable printer to supply Trump with printed news clips and social media posts, a habit rooted in Trump's preference for reading important information on paper rather than a screen, per the Financial Times. Harp was among a select group of aides who accompanied Trump during a covert exit from Air Force One in a catering truck during a security scare after a summit, which drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
Martin, 31, started as a White House press assistant in 2019, followed Trump to Palm Beach, Florida, to help run his media operations after he left office, and returned to the White House press staff after Trump's 2024 victory. She has worked for Trump since his first White House term.
Harris, 26, was appointed by Trump in February to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which has oversight over the president's planned $400 million White House ballroom project. Her previous work history was not detailed.
Nauta's Past Legal Troubles
Nauta, who received the smaller $20,000 gift, previously served as Trump's valet before becoming director of Oval Office operations. He and Carlos de Oliveira were charged in 2023 with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into classified documents Trump took with him when he left the White House after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. Those charges against Nauta and de Oliveira were dismissed in 2024.
The disclosures leave open whether the cash gifts amount to a violation of federal ethics law or simply an unusual, if legal, holiday tradition between a president and his closest aides. The White House has not said whether any other staffers beyond the four named recipients received similar payments.
