TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS

1. President Joe Biden’s Office of the White House spending in his first year tops both of his most recent predecessors: $49.6 million compared to Donald Trump’s $39.5 million and Barack Obama’s $49.4 million (both figures inflation adjusted).

2. Biden’s spending is in line with his higher staff levels: 560 staffers in his first year compared to Trump’s 377 and Obama’s 487.

3. Jill Biden had 12 staffers her first year as First Lady, more than twice as much as Melania Trump’s five, but half as much as Michelle Obama’s reported 24.

4. Several Obama-era staffers are back to serve under Biden, including presidential assistants Susan Rice and Jeff Zients.

5. Each of the past three presidents started their terms with 22 presidential assistants, the highest ranking White House staffers.

6. Salaries for presidential assistants rose from $172,000 to $180,000 from Obama’s first term to Biden’s, an increase of 4.6 percent over 13 years.

7. The highest paid staffer between all three administrations was John Czwartacki, Trump’s 2019 senior advisor to the chief of staff making $239,595.

8. Trump was the first president to donate his entire $400,000 salary since John F. Kennedy.

9. Obama donated part of his salary in 2013, giving up $20,000 in solidarity with government pay freezes that year.

10. Trump’s highest White House payroll was $41,284,244 in 2019, Obama’s highest was $40,225,595 in 2015 (not adjusted for inflation).

 

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