WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump gave $45,000 cash gifts last year to three senior White House aides, including executive assistant Natalie Harp, while another close aide received $20,000, according to financial disclosures released by the White House, raising questions over federal ethics rules governing payments to government employees.
Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris each received $45,000, with the payments listed as “Cash Gift for Holidays.” Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, received a $20,000 cash gift, according to the disclosures.
The payments were separate from the aides’ government salaries. Harp, Martin and Harris each earn about $150,000 annually, while Nauta’s reported annual compensation is $175,000.
Federal law generally restricts government employees from receiving compensation beyond their official salaries, making the nature and circumstances of the payments a potential ethics issue.
Why are Trump’s cash gifts to White House aides raising ethics questions?
The disclosures have drawn scrutiny because the recipients are federal employees who work closely with the president and have significant access to him.
Richard W. Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, questioned the appropriateness of the payments, arguing that White House employees should not be treated like private-sector staff receiving personal gratuities.
The White House has rejected concerns about the legality of the gifts.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including employees and aides, both during his government service and private-sector career.
Ingle said the payments were unrelated to the recipients’ official duties and therefore complied with applicable legal and ethical standards.
Who received the cash gifts and why are the aides significant?
The recipients include some of Trump’s closest White House aides.
Harp and Nauta have accompanied Trump extensively during official travel and have maintained close access to the president. Harp also plays a prominent role in managing Trump’s Truth Social account and assisting with his social media communications.
Harp and Nauta attracted additional attention last month after a report said they were aboard a catering truck that secretly transported Trump to a flight from Turkey to Britain in July amid security concerns related to Iran.
Nauta, a former White House valet, was also charged in Trump’s first administration-era classified documents case after prosecutors accused him of helping conceal sensitive documents taken from the White House. He pleaded not guilty, and the case was later dropped after Trump returned to office.
The disclosure of the cash gifts adds another layer of scrutiny to the relationship between Trump and his inner circle, particularly as questions continue over the boundaries between personal gifts and financial benefits provided to federal employees.