According to new financial statements released by the administration, US President Donald Trump gave valuable cash gifts on the occasion, including 45,000 USD for executive assistant Natalie Harp, AFP reported.
Communications advisor Margo Martin and Executive Vice President of the Oval Office Chamberlain Harris also received $45,000 each, while Executive Director of the Oval Office Walt Nauta received a cash gift worth $20,000.
The gifts are recorded in the annual financial statements of these employees, released by the administration last week. According to the White House's payroll report to Congress, Ms. Harp, Ms. Martin and Ms. Harris have a salary of $150,000 per year, while Mr. Nauta receives $17.5 million.
A White House official informed that Mr. Trump "has a long-standing custom of giving Christmas gifts to people close to him, sometimes including staff and assistants, both in the administration and during his time in the private sector".
The official did not say whether any other employees received similar gifts, but affirmed that the cash amounts "are not related to the official duties of individuals in the government, and are therefore fully permitted under the relevant legal and ethical standards". Information about these gifts was first reported by the Washington Post yesterday.
Ms. Harp is the constant face next to Mr. Trump, known for always carrying a portable printer to print articles and social media posts that benefit the president - who prefers to read important information on paper rather than on the screen.
Ms. Martin has worked for Mr. Trump since her previous term at the White House. She started as a press assistant, then followed the president to Palm Beach, Florida to support media operations after he lost to Mr. Joe Biden in 2020, and returned to the White House with Mr. Trump after winning in 2024.
Earlier this year, Mr. Trump appointed Ms. Harris to the US Commission on Fine Arts, the agency responsible for overseeing the presidential ballroom project at the White House.
Mr. Nauta, who used to be a bodyguard serving Mr. Trump personally, and real estate manager of Mar-a-Lago Carlos De Oliveira.
