Article II, Section 1, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution sets the terms of the President’s pay. It guarantees the President a salary, freezes that salary for the duration of each four-year term so Congress cannot raise or cut it, and bars the President from accepting any other payment from the federal government or any state while in office. This provision is commonly called the Domestic Emoluments Clause, and its purpose is to keep money from being used as leverage over the executive branch.
What the Clause Says
The text reads: “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”1Constitution Annotated. Article II Section 1 – Section: Clause 7 Compensation and Emoluments
Three rules come out of that sentence. The President gets a regular paycheck. That paycheck cannot go up or down during the term. And no other financial benefit can flow to the President from the federal government or from any individual state (“any of them” refers to the states) while the term is running. The word “emolument” is broader than salary. It reaches profit, gain, or advantage tied to holding the office.
The Current Salary and Allowances
Federal law sets the President’s annual compensation at $400,000, paid monthly. The President also receives a $50,000 yearly expense allowance for costs arising from official duties. That allowance is excluded from the President’s gross income, so it functions as tax-free, and any unused portion returns to the Treasury.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 102 Compensation of the President
The same statute entitles the President to use the furniture and other federal property kept in the Executive Residence at the White House.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 3 USC 102 Compensation of the President Separate appropriations cover official entertainment, travel for the President and supporting staff, and White House upkeep. Those funds are accounted for through presidential certificates rather than standard federal auditing.3U.S. Government Accountability Office. White House Spending FY 2022 Certificated Expenditures of the President and Vice President Were for Authorized Purposes
The $400,000 figure has been in place since noon on January 20, 2001, when a 1999 statute doubling the previous $200,000 salary took effect at the start of a new presidential term.4U.S. Government Publishing Office. 3 USC 102 Compensation of the President
Why the Pay Cannot Change During a Term
Congress can pass a law changing presidential pay at any time. What it cannot do is make the change take effect for a sitting President. A raise or cut only applies once a new term begins. That is why the 1999 law waited until January 2001 to take hold.
Alexander Hamilton laid out the reason in Federalist No. 73. A legislature holding the power to adjust the President’s paycheck could, he wrote, “reduce him by famine, or tempt him by largesses, to surrender at discretion his judgment to their inclinations.” Fixing the amount at the start of each term meant Congress could “neither weaken his fortitude by operating on his necessities, nor corrupt his integrity by appealing to his avarice.”5Constitution Annotated. Emoluments Clause and Presidential Compensation A hostile Congress might try to starve out a President it opposed. A friendly Congress might reward cooperation with a bonus. Either move would compromise executive independence.
One recurring question is whether a general income tax increase counts as “diminishing” presidential compensation. The Supreme Court addressed the same issue for federal judges in O’Malley v. Woodrough (1939), holding that a nondiscriminatory income tax applied to everyone does not reduce judicial pay under Article III. The Court has not directly ruled on the same question for the presidency, though the dissent in that case observed that the compensation protections for judges and the President rest on the same constitutional logic.
The Ban on Other Domestic Payments
The second half of the clause is a flat prohibition. During the term, the President cannot receive “any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”1Constitution Annotated. Article II Section 1 – Section: Clause 7 Compensation and Emoluments That covers supplemental income, bonuses, gifts, and other financial advantages from either the federal government or any state government.
Hamilton tied this to the concern about divided loyalty. Because “neither the Union, nor any of its members, will be at liberty to give . . . any other emolument,” the President would have “no pecuniary inducement to renounce or desert the independence intended for him by the Constitution.”5Constitution Annotated. Emoluments Clause and Presidential Compensation A President getting payments from one state might favor that state. A President drawing side money from federal agencies would effectively set personal pay by controlling the executive branch. The clause forecloses both.
What actually counts as a prohibited “emolument” has never been settled by the Supreme Court. The scope of the term remains contested, and the courts have had few chances to interpret it.
How It Differs From the Foreign Emoluments Clause
The Domestic Emoluments Clause is often confused with the Foreign Emoluments Clause in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8. They serve related purposes but operate differently.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause bars anyone holding a federal office from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” without congressional consent.6Constitution Annotated. Article I Section 9 Clause 8 Three differences matter:
- Coverage. The foreign clause reaches every federal officeholder. The domestic clause reaches only the President.
- Source. The foreign clause targets benefits from foreign governments. The domestic clause targets benefits from the U.S. federal government and state governments.
- Consent. The foreign clause lets Congress approve an exception. The domestic clause has no consent mechanism. Congress cannot vote to pay the President more than the fixed salary, no matter how broad the majority.
The domestic clause is an absolute bar within its scope.
Enforcement and Open Questions
The clause contains no built-in enforcement mechanism. It does not say who can sue, what the remedy is, or which court hears the claim. That silence has become the central legal problem.
The largest recent test came during the Trump administration, when lawsuits alleged that the President’s continued business ownership produced payments from federal and state agencies in violation of both emoluments clauses. Three cases reached federal appeals courts. The D.C. Circuit ruled that individual members of Congress lacked standing to sue over injuries to the legislature as a whole. The Second Circuit ruled that hospitality-industry competitors did have standing based on competitive harm.7Constitution Annotated. Foreign Emoluments Clause Generally
None of these cases produced a final ruling on whether the clause had been violated. After President Trump left office in January 2021, the Supreme Court directed the appellate courts to vacate their decisions and dismiss the cases as moot.7Constitution Annotated. Foreign Emoluments Clause Generally Because those rulings were vacated, most of the lower court reasoning about the meaning of “emolument” and who can bring a claim has no binding force. The D.C. Circuit’s holding on legislative standing is the exception and remains good law.
The practical result is that enforcement rests largely on political accountability. Impeachment is the clearest remedy against a sitting President, though the Constitution does not specifically list an emoluments violation among impeachable offenses. Whether private citizens or state governments can successfully bring a future suit under the clause is unresolved.
When the Restrictions End
The clause applies only “during the Period for which he shall have been elected.”1Constitution Annotated. Article II Section 1 – Section: Clause 7 Compensation and Emoluments Once a President leaves office, the compensation freeze and the ban on other domestic payments no longer apply. Under the Former Presidents Act, former Presidents receive a pension equal to the annual pay of a Cabinet secretary, paid monthly by the Treasury, and Congress separately appropriates funds through the General Services Administration for office space, staffing, and transition needs.8National Archives. Former Presidents Act Former Presidents and their spouses also receive lifetime Secret Service protection under a separate statute. None of those benefits run into the clause because the clause has, by then, stopped operating.