President Donald Trump gave Natalie Harp and two other White House aides 45,000 dollars each in cash gifts for the holidays, according to new financial disclosure statements, CNN reports. These publicly disclosed documents reveal that the payments were reported by the recipients as holiday gifts in their annual executive branch disclosure forms.
Beyond Harp, the other two recipients are Chamberlain Harris, the deputy director of Oval Office operations, and Margo Martin, a communications adviser. Publicly disclosed White House documents confirm that each of these three women earns an annual salary of 150,000 dollars.
The White House press office released a statement regarding the payments. The statement noted, “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 office further clarified its position by stating, “The gifts at issue here have nothing to do with any of these individuals’ official government duties, and, therefore, are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards.”
The size of the gifts has drawn attention from ethics experts
John Ronquillo, an associate public policy professor at the University of Maryland, noted that the amount is nearly one-third of the annual salary for these aides. He expressed that this is not a trivial amount and should raise concerns for those focused on ethics in government.
Richard Painter, who served as a White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, also weighed in on the legality of the payments. Painter argued that these gifts are likely examples of a government employee receiving income in addition to a government salary, which is prohibited by federal law.
Painter stated, “If someone is your employee and you would give them a gift, it is almost certainly not a gift. It’s income.” He further added, “The president and they work for the United States government. They aren’t his … Fifth Avenue doorman. You … can’t give a gift there.”
Natalie Harp has faced significant public attention recently. She is a 35-year-old former television anchor who joined the staff in 2022. Since that time, she has become known for her dedication, often trailing the president across the country to provide him with positive news stories and social media correspondence.
Allies have even given her the nickname of the “human printer” because she frequently types out the president’s Truth Social posts as he dictates them. Her profile grew after Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned her during a speech, referencing her presence on an aircraft during a secret departure from Turkey in July.
The financial disclosures also highlighted a holiday gift for Walt Nauta, a longtime aide to the president. Nauta reported receiving a gift of 20,000 dollars from the president. Nauta was previously charged in the case concerning the handling of classified documents, though that case has since been dropped.
Published: Sep 9, 2026 02:33 pm