Trump donates quarterly salary to HHS for coronavirus efforts

President Trump has donated his quarterly salary to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as it seeks to combat the coronavirus, the White House announced Tuesday.

Press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted that Trump donated his salary from the fourth quarter of 2019 “to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat #Coronavirus.”

President @realDonaldTrump made a commitment to donate his salary while in office. Honoring that promise and to further protect the American people, he is donating his 2019 Q4 salary to @HHSGov to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat #Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/R6KUQmBRl1

— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) March 3, 2020

The president pledged to donate his quarterly $100,000 salary upon taking office, and he has given it to various government agencies over his first three years in the White House.

He has previously donated his salary to the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, as well as the government agency fighting the opioid crisis, among others.

The Trump administration last week submitted a $2.5 billion supplemental funding request to Congress to fight the coronavirus, a figure lawmakers in both parties viewed as insufficient. The final package is likely to be between $6 billion and $8 billion, according to one source familiar with negotiations, with a vote expected this week.

The White House expects Trump to sign the bill no later than the end of next week.

Six people have died in the U.S. from coronavirus, and new cases are being announced on a near daily basis. There are at least 60 known cases nationwide, not including those who were repatriated from Wuhan, China, or the Diamond Princess cruise ship.