Donald Trump gave Christmas presents of large sums of cash to four White House aides, including Natalie Harp, new official financial disclosures revealed.
Gifts of $45,000 (£33,200) each were given to executive assistant Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin, and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris.
A $20,000 (£14,755) gift was also given to director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta, according to the staff annual financial disclosure forms published by the Trump administration last week.
Harp, Martin and Harris make $150,000 (£110,669) annually and Nauta is paid $175,000 (£129,114) a year, according to the White House's salary disclosure report to Congress.
The disclosures of the gifts were first reported by The Washington Post.
The White House press office posted a statement on social media which 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 were not related to the "individuals' official government duties, and, therefore, are entirely permissible under relevant legal and ethical standards", it added.
An official did not say if any other staffers were given similar gifts from the president, reported the Associated Press.
Harp is a constant presence by the president's side and is known for carrying a portable printer with her so she can print out favourable media coverage and social media posts.
Martin has been working for Trump since his first term in the White House.
She started as a White House press assistant and followed the president to Florida to help run his media operations after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
She returned to the White House with Trump after his 2024 victory.
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Earlier this year, Trump appointed Harris to serve on the US Commission of Fine Arts, which has oversight on 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 following the president's first term.
The charges were dismissed in 2024.
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