Meet the highest-paid White House staffers — and see how much they make

Working at the White House might be one of the most exclusive and prestigious jobs in America, but you’d be surprised by how much some of the people around the president make each year.

For starters, having the top job — that is, being the president of the United States — brings in a salary of $400,000, which some independently wealthy presidents, such as John F. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover, and Donald Trump, have chosen to donate instead.

While the figure is significantly higher than what the average American makes — $69,846 in 2024, according to the Social Security Administration — it’s also less than you would need to be in the top 1% of earners across all US states.

In 2025, the top 1% of earners in Maryland and Virginia, which border the District of Columbia, make an annual $677,543 and $701,792, respectively.

Government salaries can often fall behind what professionals make in the private sector, as serving the public isn’t quite as lucrative as maximizing shareholder value. Still, to say that those working at the White House are underpaid would be an overstatement.

On July 1, the White House shared with Congress the salaries of all employees inside the president’s executive office, including aides, advisors, and staff leaders, as it is legally required to.

Some of the highest-compensated workers around the president include policy advisors and legal counsel, while others are responsible for the president’s communications and personnel management. Lower-paid roles include research assistants and press assistants.

A few at the top of the White House’s payroll at the time of the list’s reporting to Congress have since left their roles, like Taylor Budowich, who went to work for the private sector, or moved around the government, like Mike Waltz, who began acting as the US ambassador to the United Nations after being dismissed from his role as national security advisor.

Other notable names, like Marco Rubio and David Sacks, declared a $0 salary from the office of the president due to either forgoing their salary or receiving compensation from other branches of government.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

See the 35 people who get paid the most inside the White House, after the president himself.

Jacalynne Klopp

Role: Senior immigration advisor

Salary: $225,700

Klopp, who earns the maximum salary possible in the senior executive service, is a top advisor to border czar Tom Homan and has worked in the government for over 17 years, including roles at the Department of Homeland Security and in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enforcement and removal operations, Fortune reported.

Edgar Mkrtchian

Role: Associate counsel

Salary: $203,645

According to Mkrtchian’s LinkedIn profile, the attorney began working as an advisor for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in June 2024.

Brittany Baldwin

Role: Senior policy advisor

Salary: $195,200

Michael James Blair

Role: Deputy chief of staff for legislative, political, and public affairs

Salary: $195,200

Kyser Blakely

Role: Senior policy advisor

Salary: $195,200

Taylor Budowich

Role: Deputy chief of staff for communications and public liaison and cabinet secretary

Salary: $195,200

Budowich left his role at the White House to work in the private sector in October. Neither Budowich nor the White House commented publicly on his departure.

In February, he was named in a lawsuit by the Associated Press over his move to block the outlet’s access to the Oval Office and Air Force One after they refused to adopt Trump’s naming of the Gulf of America.

In response, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was also named in the lawsuit, said, “We feel we are in the right in this position. We’re going to ensure that truth and accuracy is present at that White House every single day.”

The case is ongoing.

Steven Cheung

Role: Director of communications

Salary: $195,200

Elizabeth Cilia

Role: Senior policy advisor

Salary: $195,200

John Coale

Role: Deputy assistant to the president and deputy special envoy to Ukraine

Salary: $195,200

Blake Deeley

Role: Special assistant to the president and deputy executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council

Salary: $195,200

William Doffermyre

Role: Senior advisor

Salary: $195,200

In October, Doffermyre began serving as the solicitor for the US Department of the Interior after being a senior advisor to the president for the first months of his second presidency.

Joshua Fisher

Role: Director of the Office of Management and Administration

Salary: $195,200

Sergio Gor

Role: Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel

Salary: $195,200

In August, the president nominated Gor, who was then serving as the director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, as the US ambassador to India, and he was sworn into the role in November.

Vince Haley

Role: Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Salary: $195,200

Hayley Harrison

Role: Chief of staff to the first lady

Salary: $195,200

William ‘Beau’ Harrison

Role: Deputy chief of staff for operations

Salary: $195,200

Kevin Hassett

Role: Assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council

Salary: $195,200

Tom Homan

Role: Border czar

Salary: $195,200

Hope Renee Hudson

Role: Advisor

Salary: $195,200

Joseph Keith Kellogg

Role: Special envoy for Ukraine and Russia

Salary: $195,200

Peter Lake

Role: Senior advisor and senior director of power at the National Energy Dominance Council

Salary: $195,200

Karoline Leavitt

Role: White House press secretary

Salary: $195,200

Nick Luna

Role: Deputy chief of staff for strategic implementation

Salary: $195,200

Earl G. Matthews

Role: Senior associate counsel

Salary: $195,200

In July, Matthews was sworn in as general counsel of the Department of War after serving as senior associate counsel to the president during the first months of his second term.

Stephen Miller

Role: Deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security advisor

Salary: $195,200

Peter Navarro

Role: Senior counselor for trade and manufacturing

Salary: $195,200

Dan Scavino

Role: Deputy chief of staff

Salary: $195,200

After Sergio Gor was confirmed as the US ambassador to India in October, Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino took over as the White House’s director of personnel.

Will Scharf

Role: Staff secretary

Salary: $195,200

Mike Waltz

Role: National security advisor

Salary: $195,200

After the leak of Signal chats discussing US strikes in Yemen, the national security advisor was dismissed from his role and announced as the 32nd United States ambassador to the United Nations, a role he assumed in September.

David Warrington

Role: Counsel to the president

Salary: $195,200

Stefanie Wehagen

Role: Associate counsel

Salary: $195,200

Kara Westercamp

Role: Associate counsel

Salary: $195,200

Susan Wiles

Role: Chief of staff

Salary: $195,200

Patrick Witt

Role: Deputy director of the Presidential Council of Advisors for Digital Assets

Salary: $195,200

Ross Worthington

Role: Director of speechwriting

Salary: $195,200

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