Trump Media's $800K gifts to top Cabinet picks spark new ethics concerns: report

Two of Donald Trump’s top cabinet nominees Kash Patel and Linda McMahon were both gifted stock from the president’s social media startup valued at more than $800,000, regulatory filings reviewed by Politico revealed.

Patel – Trump’s selection to run the FBI, and McMahon, who was tapped to lead the Education Department – both have seats on the board of Trump Media & Technology Group, and were each recently awarded 25,946 shares, according to the filings.

“Based on the company’s closing share price of $31.86 on Friday, the stock gifts were worth about $826,000 apiece,” Politico reported. “However, the board members can only sell a portion of the awards now — with the majority set to become available over the course of the next two years.”

The gifts reaching almost $1 million were reported by Trump Media in the filings as “consideration for services provided” from March to Dec. 25, 2024.

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But the latest revelation is reigniting concerns over how intimately connected Trump’s businesses are to his administration, which Trump is stocking with several high-profile multi-millionaires and billionaires like Elon Musk and Doug Bergum.

“In addition, ethics watchdogs have said that Trump Media — the fledgling, money-losing parent company of the social media site Truth Social — could become a new means for corporate interests and foreign actors to try to garner influence with the administration,” Politico said. “The company is majority-owned by Trump, whose stake is worth about $3.6 billion.”

The publication added that Trump transferred his shares in Trump Media into a trust controlled by his son, Donald Trump Jr., after his 2024 election victory.

The same amount of company stock was also given to other Trump Media board members, including his eldest son and former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Politico reported.

Patel and McMahon are both awaiting Senate confirmation.