In recently released accounts, the three women describe the payments as Christmas gifts. The sum is equivalent to about a third of their annual salaries, according to the White House payroll.
The gifts likely violate federal law, said Trump critic Richard Painter, a former ethics adviser to President George W. Bush, to The Washington Post.
He's obviously trying to make it financially easier for them to work in government service in the White House. You can't do that.
A White House spokesman denies any wrongdoing.
Trump aide Natalie Harp has increasingly found herself in the spotlight. The 35-year-old rarely leaves the president's side and is reportedly his absolute favorite.
