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Report: Trump's WH staff is much smaller than Obama's and will save taxpayers millions of dollars
Celebrity Lindsay Lohan comes to President Donald Trump's defense against constant bullying. “THIS IS our president,” she tweeted. “Stop #bullying him & start trusting him." (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Report: Trump's WH staff is much smaller than Obama's and will save taxpayers millions of dollars

President Donald Trump will save taxpayers millions of dollars this year by having a much smaller White House staff than former President Barack Obama, White House staff salary data reveal.

Trump released to Congress on Friday an annual report detailing his White House staff, their jobs and the salaries they earn. The data show that Trump employs 377 White House staffers, which is about 100 fewer than what Obama had in 2015, according to Forbes.

Trump will pay his staffers a combined total of $35.8 million, while Obama paid his $40.9 million in 2015.

If Trump were to maintain the same staffing salary levels compared to Obama's, he could save taxpayers more than $20 million over the course of his first term in the White House.

Another major difference between the Trump White House and the Obama White House is the first ladies' staffs. Friday's data show that first lady Melania Trump employs only five staffers for a total of just more than $600,000 each year. On the other hand, Michelle Obama employed a staff of 24, with a payroll that cost taxpayers millions of dollars annually.

Among the highest-ranking White House staff, who normally go by the title "assistant to the president," Trump employs 22, the same number of assistants that Obama employed his first year. Trump's assistants make $179,700 each and include people such as Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and others.

However, a big difference between the Trump and Obama White Houses is the number of "czars" that Trump employs. Czars are highly specialized advisers who advise the president in a specific area of interest. Obama had a number of czars throughout his two presidential terms, but according to the data, Trump has zero czars on payroll.

The data also revealed that several Trump staffers are taking reduced salaries or no salaries at all.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have both declined a taxpayer-funded salary. In addition, two of Trump's key advisers, Gary Cohn and Christopher Liddell, are each receiving a salary of $30,000 — the lowest in the White House. They both have previous jobs where they earned large amounts of wealth.

Trump himself campaigned on not accepting a salary as president. But Article II of the Constitution mandates the president be compensated, so he has decided to donate it instead.

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