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Fact check: Did other US Presidents also refuse or donate their salaries?
Executive Summary
Several U.S. presidents have either declined to accept the presidential salary initially or have pledged to donate it, with documented examples stretching from George Washington in the 1780s to 20th‑ and 21st‑century presidents; these actions occurred for varied reasons—principled symbolic gestures, personal wealth, or campaign promises—and the historical record shows multiple precedents rather than a single anomaly. Contemporary claims about presidents refusing or donating pay must be read against specific evidence: George Washington initially resisted taking payment, Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy are reported to have directed pay away from their personal use, and modern presidents such as Donald Trump publicly pledged or acted to donate salary in particular terms, each episode backed by primary contemporary reporting and later historical summaries [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Washington’s early refusal: a founding precedent with caveats that matter for interpretation
George Washington’s initial reluctance to accept a formal salary provides the earliest and most-cited precedent for presidential refusal; historians record that Washington delivered an acceptance speech in June 1785 that rejected payment, and Congress responded by fixing a presidential salary in 1789, after which Washington received compensation and expense reimbursements [1] [2]. The historical record frames Washington’s action less as a continuing refusal to be paid than as a symbolic stance during the Confederation period that led to a statutory salary once the Constitution established the office’s parameters; subsequent reporting and academic summaries emphasize that Washington ultimately accepted the congressional salary and related expense allocations, so his episode is best read as a formative dispute over norms rather than a sustained precedent of perpetual refusal [1] [2].
2. Hoover and Kennedy: wealthy presidents who redirected pay
Twentieth‑century examples often cited include Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy, both of whom are reported to have donated presidential pay or otherwise declined to use it personally, reflecting personal wealth and public messaging about service. Accounts assembled in historical profiles and journalism note Hoover’s donation of salary and Kennedy’s comparable actions at times during his administration, with historians and museum timelines documenting those practices as selective philanthropic gestures rather than permanent institutional changes to presidential compensation [3] [4] [7] [8]. These cases demonstrate that donation of pay has been episodic and often tied to individual circumstances—wealth, personal philanthropy, or public relations considerations—rather than a systemic pattern adopted by multiple administrations.
3. Modern pledges and practice: Trump’s statements and White House staff decisions
In modern politics, presidents have at times pledged to donate their federal salary; Donald Trump publicly pledged during his first term to donate his presidential pay and has been reported to decline or redirect compensation in certain periods, and there are contemporary reports that some White House staff also declined pay during a second‑term transition or similar arrangements, illustrating the recurrence of salary‑refusal rhetoric in recent political practice [5] [6]. Reporting from 2017 documented Trump’s pledge to donate salary to federal programs, while later pieces in 2025 reference instances of Trump and several top aides declining compensation in specific contexts; these actions are typically constrained by federal pay statutes, ethics rules, and reporting mechanisms that make outright permanent refusal or impoundment legally complex [5] [6] [9].
4. Legal and procedural limits: why “refuse” is not always simple
The executive branch cannot unilaterally erase statutory compensation without legal consequence; federal law and budget rules, including the post‑1974 impoundment framework, establish that presidents have limited authority to withhold or redirect funds permanently, and when pay is redirected it often occurs through donations to charities or reimbursements under disclosed arrangements rather than administrative impoundment of salary lines [10]. Courts, Congress, and ethical disclosure regimes make long‑term salary refusal legally and procedurally fraught, so many presidential refusals or donations take the form of voluntary gifting of the pay after it is lawfully received, rather than a legally effective renunciation that changes how compensation is treated under federal statutes [10] [2].
5. Bottom line: precedents exist but they are diverse and context‑dependent
The factual record shows multiple instances across American history where presidents either initially rejected payment, redirected it, or publicly pledged to donate it—and each instance carries different legal and rhetorical meanings: Washington’s early stance shaped norms but ended with statutory salary; Hoover and Kennedy used donation to signal civic commitment; and recent presidents have used pledges as political statements subject to legal constraints and reporting [1] [3] [4] [5]. Evaluating any claim that “other US Presidents also refused or donated their salaries” requires attention to the specifics—timing, mechanism, legal formality—and the contemporary and historical sources above provide distinct, corroborated examples illustrating that the practice is neither unique nor uniform [1] [3] [6] [4].