Foreign Gifts

Foreign gifts are presents that officials receive from other governments and their leaders, such as art, jewelry, and other items of value. Because such gifts could sway an official's loyalty, the Constitution and later laws set rules on accepting and keeping them. Ethics offices, the State Department, and Congress all handle them.

People usually ask what an official may keep, what happens to gifts they cannot keep, and how the Emoluments Clause fits in. They also ask how gifts are recorded and what differs among the president, Congress, and other employees.