President Donald Trump gave sizable holiday gifts to four White House aides, according to new financial disclosures released by the administration.
The gifts of $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 $20,000 gift for director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta, were noted in the staffers’ annual financial disclosure forms published by the administration last week.
Harp, Martin, and Harris make $150,000 annually, and Nauta is paid $175,000 a year, according to the White House’s salary disclosure report to Congress.
The White House Response
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 on Tuesday by The Washington Post.
Who Are the Aides?
Natalie Harp is a constant presence by Trump’s side and is known for carrying a portable printer with her so she can print out favorable media coverage and social media posts for the president, who prefers reading important information on paper rather than on a screen.
Margo Martin has been working for Trump since his first term. She started as a White House press assistant and followed the president to Palm Beach, Florida, to help run his media operations after he lost the 2020 election. She returned to the White House with Trump after his 2024 victory.
Chamberlain Harris was appointed earlier this year by Trump to serve on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which has oversight over the president’s White House ballroom project.
Walt Nauta, who previously served as a valet to Trump, was charged in 2023 with conspiring with Trump to obstruct an FBI investigation into classified documents that Trump took with him when he left the White House after his first term. The charges were dismissed in 2024.
The Bottom Line
President Trump gave $45,000 holiday gifts to Natalie Harp, Margo Martin, and Chamberlain Harris, and a $20,000 gift to Walt Nauta, according to new financial disclosures. The White House said the cash gifts were not related to official duties and are permissible under legal and ethical standards. The recipients include a constant presidential aide, a longtime staffer, a commission appointee, and a former valet who faced charges related to the classified documents case.
