President Donald Trump provided a “cash gift for the holidays” to three White House aides last year, handing out $45,000 each to his executive assistant Natalie Harp and two other employees who work in the West Wing, according to financial disclosure forms.

The women are among Trump’s closest aides. Besides Harp, the money went to Margo Martin, his communications adviser; and Chamberlain Harris, the deputy director of Oval Office operations.

In a statement posted on social media, the White House said Trump has a “long-standing practice of giving Christmas gifts to people in his orbit. 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.”

Government employees are generally prohibited from accepting outside salaries.

The gifts are listed in the administration’s financial disclosure forms and were reported earlier by The Washington Post.

The women’s salaries are $150,000 a year, according to the disclosures.

The aides who received the money work closely with the president. Harp is among his most devoted aides and viewed as the gatekeeper to Trump. She has been nicknamed the “the human printer” because she tails the president with a portable printer so she can hand him paper copies of information.

Her role came under public focus last month after it was revealed that she was among the handful of aides who joined the president on a secret flight out Turkey after officials determined there was a credible threat to Air Force One.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By The New York Times/Doug Mills
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