【中美创新时报2025 年 1 月 28 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）特朗普的提名人集体和个人都很富有，他们的大部分收入来自传统的私营部门来源，如咨询、法律或金融工作。一些人还签订了图书合同，并在付费电视和媒体上露面。但披露的信息还揭示了其他不太明显的收入来源，这些收入来源揭示了华盛顿的运作方式。《波士顿环球报》记者Tal Kopan 对此作了下述报道。
撰写专栏文章需要数万美元。智库的六位数薪水。在全国各地发表演讲的高薪合同。随着特朗普总统提名的政府工作人员面临参议院的确认，公众开始了解他精心挑选的团队赚钱的无数方式。
特朗普的提名人集体和个人都很富有，他们的大部分收入来自传统的私营部门来源，如咨询、法律或金融工作。一些人还签订了图书合同，并在付费电视和媒体上露面。但披露的信息还揭示了其他不太明显的收入来源，这些收入来源揭示了华盛顿的运作方式。
特朗普内阁的收入来源对他们或共和党人来说都不是什么新鲜事，他们在与特朗普结盟的智库的工作也远非秘密。但新的财务披露文件共同呈现了一幅罕见的画面，展示了其中一些安排有多么有利可图——尤其是对于那些在任期间收入少得多的在野政客来说——以及 MAGA 如何对运动的新人都有好处。
根据迄今为止发布的道德披露，这些被任命者去年总共赚了 3.75 亿美元以上，尽管其中超过 3.3 亿美元归属于商务部长提名人、金融首席执行官霍华德·卢特尼克 (Howard Lutnick)。随着更多官员提交文件，这一总额将上升。相比之下，据《福布斯》报道，拜登第一届内阁的全部净资产（不仅仅是最近的薪水）为 1.18 亿美元。特朗普提名的候选人中至少有六人从美国优先政策研究所（America First Policy Institute）及其姊妹政治倡导组织获得了丰厚的报酬。美国优先政策研究所是由特朗普第一任期前官员管理的智库，在特朗普离任期间推行与特朗普一致的政策。
根据该非营利组织的纳税申报单，该智库的负责人是布鲁克·罗林斯（Brooke Rollins），她是特朗普挑选的农业部负责人。2021 年至 2023 年，该组织向她支付了 150 多万美元。这是她去年唯一的收入来源。
其他人也因担任智库各部门主席而获得了六位数的收入。税务文件显示，美国优先政策研究所在 2023 年的工资和其他报酬上花费了 1000 多万美元，该研究所当年从大部分秘密捐助者那里获得了 2700 多万美元。
司法部长提名人帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi）去年从 AFPI 获得了 52 万美元的咨询费。中央情报局局长约翰·拉特克利夫的薪酬为 18 万美元。退伍军人事务部负责人、前国会议员道格·柯林斯的薪酬为 10.4 万美元。特朗普提名的住房和城市发展部负责人斯科特·特纳的薪酬为 2.4 万美元。
被提名为环境保护署负责人、前国会议员的李·泽尔丁从智库的政治宣传部门美国优先工作机构获得了 144,999 美元，该机构与智库共享财务资源。
被提名为教育部长的摔跤大亨琳达·麦克马洪是智库的主席，但在纳税申报单上显示她没有获得任何薪酬，尽管她尚未提交披露信息。特朗普还提名智库中的其他人担任内阁以外的职位。退役中将基思·凯洛格被任命为特朗普的乌克兰和俄罗斯问题特使。 AFPI 的税务文件显示，他在 2023 年的薪酬为 237,950 美元。前代理司法部长马特·惠特克 (Matt Whitaker) 被任命为美国驻北约大使，并担任该组织法律和司法计划的联合主席。他的薪酬没有在税务文件中披露，表明他的薪酬不到 15 万美元或在 AFPI 中的作用有限。领导特朗普国家经济委员会的凯文·哈塞特 (Kevin Hassett) 也被列为没有领取任何报酬。
除了 AFPI 之外，提名人还有其他丰厚的收入来源。
根据泽尔丁的披露，他通过撰写专栏文章赚了 120,000 多美元。这些酬金通常通过游说或公共事务公司支付，其中包括 2023 年 3 月一篇反对华尔街环境、社会和治理政策的专栏文章的 25,000 美元，以及一篇从未发表的未指明的专栏文章的 30,000 美元。泽尔丁还在拉斯维加斯的三家赌场赢了 45,000 多美元，此外他还从同名咨询公司获得了 775,000 美元的薪水。
付费媒体露面是另一个赚钱方式。柯林斯和邦迪都从保守派新闻媒体 Newsmax 获得了报酬，柯林斯 18,000 美元，邦迪近 28,000 美元。福克斯新闻向交通部长提名人、前共和党众议员肖恩·达菲支付了超过 56 万美元，向国家情报总监提名人、前民主党众议员塔尔西·加巴德支付了近 20 万美元作为网络贡献者。
许多被任命者还收取了高额的演讲费。国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯赚得最多，除了福克斯新闻的 460 万美元薪水外，他还在 2023 年和 2024 年的演讲中净赚了 90 万美元。他的演讲费差别很大，包括在保守派政策组织美国立法交流委员会发表演讲的 15 万美元，以及在基督教学校、慈善机构和教堂发表演讲的 1 万至 2.5 万美元。
对于加巴德和特朗普选择领导卫生与公众服务部的罗伯特·F·肯尼迪 (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)，演讲之旅也表明了 MAGA 世界对新人的热烈欢迎。两人都是前民主党人，今年夏天他们越来越接受保守的世界观，并支持特朗普，加入了他的过渡团队。加巴德于 10 月正式成为共和党人；肯尼迪目前的政治立场尚不清楚。
加巴德从向一系列主要偏右的政治团体发表演讲和在墨西哥举行的一次豪华逾越节聚会中赚取了 170,000 多美元，此外还有近 300,000 美元的书籍预付款和超过 370,000 美元的自营商业活动收入，其中包括播客。
除了他的法律和反疫苗活动工作产生的数百万美元收入外，肯尼迪还获得了高额演讲费。在总统竞选之前，他从一所保守的大学获得了 12,000 美元的演讲费。肯尼迪在与特朗普合作之前曾进行过自己的总统竞选，在特朗普获胜几天后，他向一群名为 Genius Network 的企业家和 MAGA 捐助者聚会发表了两次演讲，每次赚了 100,000 美元。
有些人还获得了代言费。肯尼迪因代言拳击训练健身辅助产品而获得 10 万美元，但他在披露文件中证实，他已退还其中 5 万美元，因为他“无法完全履行合同规定的义务”。特纳列出了他作为品牌大使从一家经销商处获得的价值 12,500 美元的豪华汽车使用权。
道德披露文件还显示了被提名人的股票和资产持有情况，其中一些包括可能在各自机构之前有业务往来的公司。作为加入政府服务工作的一部分，他们必须签署有关任何潜在利益冲突的道德协议，并且不得接受外部收入。每一份道德协议都由一名职业政府雇员批准，并详细说明被提名人计划如何逐步减少或切断与私营部门的交易和冲突资产（如果得到确认）。
题图：1 月 23 日，特朗普总统提名的农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯在华盛顿特区举行的参议院农业、营养和林业委员会确认听证会上发表了讲话。Al Drago/Bloomberg
附原英文报道：
Trump Cabinet finances offer window into lucrative political moneymaking
By Tal Kopan Globe Staff,Updated January 28, 2025
Brooke Rollins, President Trump’s agriculture secretary nominee, spoke during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23.Al Drago/Bloomberg
WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of dollars to write op-eds. Six-figure salaries from a think tank. High-dollar deals for speeches around the country. As President Trump’s nominees to staff his administration face Senate confirmation, the public is getting a window into the myriad ways his hand-picked team made money.
Trump’s nominees are collectively and individually wealthy, with much of their income derived from traditional private sector sources, like consulting, legal, or financial jobs. Several also had book deals and paid TV and media appearances. But the disclosures also reveal other, less obvious sources of revenue that illuminate the workings of Washington.
None of the income sources for the Trump Cabinet are novel to them or Republicans, and their jobs at the Trump-aligned think tank were far from secret. But new financial disclosure filings together present a rare picture of just how lucrative some of these arrangements were — especially for out-of-power politicians who made much less while in elected office — and how MAGA has been good to even newcomers to the movement.
Collectively, the appointees made more than $375 million last year, according to the ethics disclosures released so far, although more than $330 million of that total was attributable to commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, a finance CEO. That total will rise as more officials submit their paperwork. By comparison, Biden’s first Cabinet’s entire net worth, not just recent salary, was $118 million, according to Forbes. At least six of Trump’s nominees received generous pay from the America First Policy Institute, a think tank run by former officials from the president’s first term that promoted Trump-aligned policies while he was out of office, and its sibling political advocacy organization.
The think tank’s chief was Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick for the Department of Agriculture, who was paid more than $1.5 million by the group from 2021 to 2023, according to the nonprofit’s tax filings. That was her only source of income last year.
Others made up to six figures on top of their main incomes, as well, for their roles chairing divisions of the think tank. The America First Policy Institute spent more than $10 million in 2023 on salaries and other compensation, according to tax documents that showed the group brought in more than $27 million that year from mostly secret donors.
Pam Bondi, nominee for attorney general, made $520,000 last year in consulting fees from AFPI. CIA Director John Ratcliffe was paid $180,000. Doug Collins, the nominee to run the Department of Veterans Affairs and a former congressman, received $104,000. Scott Turner, Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, made $24,000.
And Lee Zeldin, named to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and a former congressman, made $144,999 from America First Works, the political advocacy arm of the think tank, which shares financial resources with the group.
Linda McMahon, a wrestling magnate who is nominated for secretary of education, is the think tank’s chair but is listed in tax filings as receiving zero compensation, though she has not yet submitted her disclosures. Trump has also nominated others from the group for non-Cabinet positions. Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general, has been named as Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Tax documents from AFPI show he was paid $237,950 in 2023. One-time acting attorney general Matt Whitaker was named the US ambassador to NATO and was co-chair of the group’s law and justice program. His compensation was not disclosed in tax documents, indicating he was paid less than $150,000 or had a limited role with AFPI. Kevin Hassett, who leads Trump’s National Economic Council, was also listed as receiving no pay.
There were other lucrative sources of income for nominees beyond AFPI.
Zeldin made more than $120,000 writing op-eds, according to his disclosures. Those honoraria were usually paid through lobbying or public affairs firms and included $25,000 for a single March 2023 op-ed arguing against environmental, social, and governance policies on Wall Street, and $30,000 for an unspecified op-ed that was never published. Zeldin also made more than $45,000 in winnings at three Las Vegas casinos, on top of his $775,000 salary from his eponymous consulting business.
Paid media appearances were another money generator. Collins and Bondi were both paid by conservative news outlet Newsmax, Collins $18,000 and Bondi almost $28,000. Fox News paid Transportation Secretary nominee and former Republican representative Sean Duffy over $560,000 and director of National Intelligence nominee and former Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard almost $200,000 for their work as network contributors.
Many of the appointees also commanded hefty speaking fees. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made the most, netting $900,000 for speaking engagements in 2023 and 2024 in addition to his $4.6 million salary from Fox News. His speaking fees ranged widely, including $150,000 for a speech to the conservative policy group American Legislative Exchange Council and $10,000 to $25,000 for speeches at Christian schools, charities, and churches.
For Gabbard and Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the speaking circuit also showed how warmly the MAGA world welcomed newcomers. Both are former Democrats who increasingly embraced conservative world views and endorsed Trump this summer, joining his transition team. Gabbard officially became a Republican in October; Kennedy’s current political affiliation is unclear.
Gabbard made more than $170,000 from speeches to a range of mainly right-leaning political groups and one luxury Passover gathering in Mexico, in addition to a nearly $300,000 book advance and more than $370,000 from her own business venture, which includes podcasting.
Kennedy also received high-dollar speaking fees on top of the millions of dollars his legal and antivaccine activism work generated. Before his presidential campaign, he was paid $12,000 by a conservative college for a speech. Kennedy, who waged his own presidential campaign before teaming up with Trump, earned $100,000 a piece for two speeches days after Trump’s victory, to a group of entrepreneurs called the Genius Network and a gathering of MAGA donors.
Some also earned endorsement money. Kennedy received $100,000 to endorse a boxing training fitness aid, though he attested in the disclosure that he returned $50,000 of that sum because he was “not able to fully perform obligations under the contract.” Turner listed receiving $12,500 worth of use of luxury cars from a dealership where he was a brand ambassador.
The ethics disclosures also show nominees’ stock and asset holdings, some of which include companies that may have business before their respective agencies. As part of their work to join government service, they are required to sign ethics agreements regarding any potential conflicts of interest and not receive outside income. Each ethics agreement is approved by a career government employee and details how the nominees plan to wind down or sever from their private sector dealings and conflicting assets if confirmed.
