$130 Million Benefactor Who Helped U.S. Military During Shutdown Finally Named
As the government shutdown stretched into its fourth week, frustration gripped federal workers nationwide.
Paychecks were delayed, services faltered — and the military’s enormous bi-weekly payroll loomed large.
In the midst of this chaos, former President Donald Trump announced that an anonymous “patriot” had stepped up with a $130 million donation to keep service members paid.
A recent investigation by The New York Times identifies the donor as Timothy Mellon, heir to one of America’s historic fortunes.
Although the Pentagon accepted the gift under its “general gift acceptance authority,” legal experts have raised serious questions.
The donation may conflict with the Anti‑Deficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money without prior approval by Congress.
While Trump praised the donor as a “great patriot,” some senators and ethics watchdogs voiced concern:
Could such large-scale private funding of military pay blur lines between public service and private influence?
One spokesman warned it raises “troubling questions of whether our own troops are at risk of being bought and paid for.”
In any case, the $130 million covers only a sliver of the nearly $6.5 billion needed to pay troops during a shutdown — a stopgap, not a solution.
