Trump Media & Technology Group this week awarded its directors blocks of shares currently worth just over $825,000.
The directors include two of President Donald Trump’s key nominees to serve in his administration; however, Kash Patel told Congress in a questionnaire as part of his nomination process that he would not accept that compensation.
“On January 28, 2025, the TMTG board convened without my presence or participation and awarded all board members—including myself—compensation for past services provided, including a monetary award and shares,” Patel wrote in response to a question from Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California. “Even though this represented compensation for past services I had provided, out of an abundance of caution and to avoid any appearance of any conflict, I did not and will not accept that compensation.” Patel also stated that he had “never received compensation for serving as a board member” for TMTG.
As part of a stock grant to members of its board, the Truth Social owner on Tuesday awarded nearly 26,000 shares each to its six directors: Patel, Linda McMahon, former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Eric Swider, Kyle Green and Donald Trump Jr, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed Thursday. Patel has been tapped for FBI director and McMahon for Department of Education secretary; both are awaiting formal confirmation.
Many critics of President Trump say that his complex web of financial stakes in various properties, cryptocurrencies and his social media company could allow him to profit off his presidency and improperly curry favor with business partners who also serve his government.
Trump has taken at least one step to avoid a conflict of interest: He announced in December that he transferred his dominant stake in Trump Media to a revocable trust of which the president’s eldest son is the sole beneficiary and Trump Jr. is the sole trustee, according to regulatory filings. He does not vote on company or board decisions. It’s common for company board members to be awarded shares, and there is no evidence whatsoever that these grants were anything other than typical stock awards to board members.
However, the relationships that potential high-profile Trump government leaders have with Trump Media – a company built on the president’s brand and a business in which the president is the effectively dominant shareholder – could add to conflict of interest concerns that have already surrounded the company and the second Trump administration.
The filings state that board members were awarded the shares “as consideration for services provided” starting when the company went public in March 2024.
The shares issued are restricted stock units, where 25% of the total shares they receive — about 6,500 shares each worth over $200,000 at Friday’s closing levels — could be immediately sold.
The remaining 75% of shares are set to vest in quarterly installments between March 2025 and March 2027.
Disclosure of the grants came the same day that Patel was grilled in a combative Senate confirmation hearing, including about his past comments praising the rioters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The company also announced this week plans to expand into financial services and potentially buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Trump Media said it plans to launch a fintech brand called Truth.Fi and to introduce investment vehicles that will focus on American growth, manufacturing, energy and the “Patriot Economy.”
CNN’s Matt Egan and Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.
Update and correction: This story has been updated to include an answer Patel gave senators where he said he did not accept the shares. This story also has been updated to more precisely describe the stock awards.
