Trump gave aide Natalie Harp a $45,000 holiday cash gift, disclosure shows

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing financial disclosures released by the Trump administration last week and reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press, says President Donald Trump gave cash holiday gifts last year to four White House aides. The disclosures show that executive assistant Natalie Harp, communications adviser Margo Martin and deputy director of Oval Office operations Chamberlain Harris each received $45,000, while Walt Nauta, director of Oval Office operations, received $20,000.

The article says the payments have prompted renewed questions about federal ethics rules, since federal employees are generally barred from receiving compensation beyond their government salaries. The White House said the gifts were consistent with ethics standards and were unrelated to the aides’ official duties. A White House spokesman also said Trump has a longstanding habit of giving Christmas gifts to people in his circle.

The reported payments are notable because they amount to a significant share of the aides’ annual salaries, which the article says are $150,000 for Harp, Martin and Harris and $175,000 for Nauta. Harp and Nauta are described as especially close to Trump and often with him at the White House and while traveling.

The story also places the disclosure in a broader context of scrutiny around Trump’s inner circle, including Harp’s role in managing social media and Nauta’s past involvement in the classified-documents case that was later dropped after Trump returned to office.