Waste of the Day: Trump Staffers Have Record-Breaking Salaries
Topline: In 2024, only one White House staffer made more than $195,000 in the Biden administration.
Now, there are 35 people making more than $195,000 in President Donald Trump’s White House, including many with salaries higher than anyone who previously held the same job.
Key facts: Presidential Advisor Jacalynne Klopp is the White House’s top-earner with a $225,700 salary.
Thirty-three other staffers make $195,200. They include Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Border Czar Tom Homan, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, and Communications Director Stephen Cheung.
Nobody in the White House was earning $195,000 when Trump’s first term ended in 2020.
Leavitt is outearning Karine Jean-Pierre, who made $180,000 last year as Biden’s press secretary, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who made $183,000 as Trump’s press secretary in 2019.
Wiles makes more than Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients, who earned $168,000 last year. Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows was making $183,000 in 2020.
Trump has also beefed up the payroll with newly-created jobs. Alice Johnson is earning $145,000 as the “pardon czar” to help Trump make decisions about pardoning prisoners. Trump pardoned 58 people between January and May of this year.
Three directors of the National Energy Dominance Council earn a total of $502,200. The council’s stated goal is to move America away from renewable energy and promote the use of fossil fuels, though Roger Pielke Jr. of the American Enterprise Institute told E&E News that “It’s not clear exactly what [the council’s] functions are.”
Other Trump staffers are the children of GOP politicians. Alexandra Huizenga earns $65,500 as a staff assistant and is also the daughter of Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI). Russell Huffines, who makes $83,500 as associate director of agency outreach, is the son of former Texas Republican state senator Don Huffines.
Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.
Background: Even though Trump’s top staffers are earning high amounts, the total payroll expense is low because there are only 396 paid employees.
The White House is spending $44.1 million on payroll this year, the least costly payroll since at least 2009 when accounting for inflation. Biden spent $60.8 million on payroll last year for 565 people.
Trump has also reduced the number of lawyers working at the White House to 27. Biden had 45 lawyers on his staff, plus seven advisors and communications specialists for the lawyers.
Summary: Trump’s reduced White House payroll is saving taxpayers millions, but his top staffers are still taking home more cash than any of their predecessors.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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