WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration. The gifts of US$45,000 each to executive assistant Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin, and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris as well as a US$20,000 gift for director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta were noted in the staffers’ annual financial disclosure forms that were published by the administration last week. Harp, Martin and Harris make US$150,000 annually and Nauta is paid US$175,000 a year, according to the White House’s salary disclosure report to Congress. A White House official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Trump “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 official did not say if any other staffers were given similar gifts from the president, but added that the cash gifts were not related to the “individuals’ official government duties, and therefore are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.” The disclosures of the gifts were first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Washington Post. Harp is a constant presence by Trump’s side and is known for carrying a portable printer with her so she can print out favourable media coverage and social media posts for the president, who prefers reading important information on paper rather than on a screen. Martin has been working for Trump since his first go-around in the White House. She started in the first term as a White House press assistant and followed the president to Palm Beach, Fla., to help run his media operations after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. She returned to the White House with Trump after his 2024 victory. Earlier this year, Trump appointed Harris to serve on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which has oversight over the president’s White House ballroom project. Nauta, who previously served as a valet to Trump, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were charged in 2023 with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into classified documents that the Republican took with him when he left the White House after his first term. The charges were dismissed in 2024. Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press
