President Trump cash gifts to White House aides raise ethical questions

Wed Sep 09 2026 22:22:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

White House staffers received tens of thousands of dollars in cash gifts from President Trump, sparking debate over ethics and conflict of interest.

Financial disclosures show President Trump gave $45,000 each to aide Natalie Harp and two other aides, while longtime aide Walt Nauta received $22,000. The White House said the gifts were personal and unrelated to official duties, but ethicists warn they could appear as favouritism. No other White House staff declared gifts, and federal employees normally cannot accept compensation for work duties. The incident highlights ongoing concerns about modern presidential influence over staff.

President Trump cash gifts to White House aides raise ethical questions

President Donald Trump gave sizable cash gifts to four White House staffers, including $45,000 (£33,000) to his close aide Natalie Harp, financial disclosures released by his administration show.

Two staff members received the same amount as Harp, while his longtime aide and director of Oval Office Operations Walt Nauta received $22,000. No other White House staffer declared any gifts from the president, the documents show. Federal employees are prohibited from receiving outside compensation for their duties.

The White House has described the gifts as personal and unrelated to official duties. A White House official said the president “has a longstanding practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit, including at times employees and aides, both in government and in his time in the private sector”. The gifts, totalling $157,000, are marked as a “cash gift for the holidays” for Nauta, Harp and two other officials: communications advisor Margo Martin and Chamberlain Harris, a White House aide who serves as Trump’s executive assistant.

The four recipients are considered close to the president. Harp, 35, is among Trump’s longest‑serving and most loyal aides, often typing out his frequent Truth Social posts. Last month she was thrust into the national spotlight after being named among a small number of people who stayed with Trump as he secretly swapped planes leaving Turkey.

Nauta, a U.S. Navy veteran, has long been at Trump’s side, serving as a White House military valet in his first term and later joining him at Mar‑a‑Lago. He was indicted in June 2023 on charges that he mishandled national security documents – a case later dismissed.

Martin is well known for documenting Trump’s activities on social media. Harris, 26, officially serves as the president’s executive assistant and was appointed to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in February.

Cassandra Burke Robertson, a law professor, said it is not an easy call to determine whether the cash gifts were ethical. If they were compensation, they are not allowed. The gifts, combined with other controversies, could raise eyebrows among the public and add to a perception of rampant conflicts of interest.

There are no other known instances of a serving U.S. president giving cash gifts to staffers. Many presidents have given souvenirs or mementos to staff. For example, former President Barack Obama gave former press secretary Robert Gibbs a framed necktie he had borrowed earlier.