Trump administration cuts White House payroll to 16-year low, watchdog group says

President Donald Trump is trying to lead by example to downsize the federal government.

The White House payroll this year is the smallest it's been in more than a decade when you factor in inflation.

Rachel O'Brien, who is the deputy public policy editor at Open the Books.com, said the Trump administration has 404 employees in 2025. She said the administration is spending roughly $44 million to pay them.

“That’s the lowest since 2009,” O'Brien told The National News Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat during a one-on-one interview Friday morning. “But 35 of these people made a lot of money. They made at least $195,000. Only one staffer earned that much in the Biden White House last year and nobody earned that much in Trump’s first term. So, the average staffer makes about $109,000.”

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