President Donald Trump on May 4 said he would again be donating his entire presidential salary back to the federal government, as he did in his first term.
“I do something that no other president has done, they think maybe George Washington has done. I contribute my entire salary to the government, back to the government. And I’m doing it again,” Trump said.
“It’s a substantial salary. It’s a half a million dollars a year or $550,000 a year, four years—a couple of million dollars,” he said, referencing the salary plus other benefits such as travel and expense allowances.
Since taking office for his first term in 2017, Trump has made it a major focus to reduce government spending where possible.
He noted the lack of previous media coverage of the issue.
“I never got a story saying I gave it. Nobody cared if I gave it. I guarantee if I didn’t give it, there’d be a big story,” Trump said.
The U.S. Constitution requires that the President receive “compensation” for his services “which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected.”
That means it’s technically unconstitutional for the president to outright decline the salary set by Congress.
While Washington initially declined a salary, as he did while serving as commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, he was ultimately persuaded to accept a $25,000 salary—the equivalent of about $900,000 today. However, Washington covered his expenses himself.
After Washington, only two presidents declined to take their presidential pay.
President Herbert Hoover became the first president in 1929 to donate his entire salary to charitable causes, as he was already a multimillionaire upon taking office.
President John F. Kennedy, whose family was ultra-wealthy, similarly donated his salary to charity but retained use of the $50,000 expenses account.
Despite the rarity of foregoing the presidential salary, Trump—who is known for his vast real estate empire and billionaire status—promised from the beginning of his 2016 run that he wouldn’t take a salary if elected.
The promise to contribute his salary back to the government comes amid efforts led by Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency to cut government spending, waste, fraud, and abuse.
