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Melania reportedly had just four aides in her first year in the White House, compared to 16 for Michelle Obama.

US First Lady Melania Trump. Photo: Reuters.

In the first year of Michelle Obama's tenure in the White House, her staff had 16 people with a total salary of $1.24 million. During Melania Trump's tenure, the number was four people with a total salary of $486,700, Fox News reported on October 22.

Details of staff and salaries were provided in the White House's annual report to Congress in June. However, both the Trump and Obama administrations have acknowledged that the number of staff supporting the First Lady is actually higher than reported. In total, nine people work for Melania and 24 work for Michelle.

According to Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Melania, the staff reduction was intentional. "Melania is very selective in her hiring, focusing on quality over quantity," Grisham said. "She wants to be mindful and responsible when dealing with taxpayer dollars."

Former first lady Hillary Clinton has 19 support staff, Laura Bush has at least 18, according to FactCheck.org. Michelle's number of aides is the highest, possibly related to the major campaigns she launched as first lady.

Compared to her predecessors, Mrs. Melania moved to the White House later, about half a year after President Donald Trump took office. She is considered not to have come from the political world and does not need a large number of supporters like the former first ladies.

However, her six-month stay at Trump Tower in New York before moving to the White House forced the Secret Service to request an additional $60 million to protect the President and the First Family. The New York Police Department estimates that it spent an average of $127,000-$146,000 a day to protect Melania and Trump's youngest son, Barron.

According to VNE