The Pentagon mentioned Friday it accepted an nameless $130 million donation to assist cowl army paychecks throughout the federal government shutdown — an unprecedented transfer that has sparked questions over its legality.
President Trump introduced the reward Thursday, telling supporters that “a buddy” despatched a examine to make up for what he referred to as a “Democrat shutdown.”
He mentioned the donor, whom he didn’t identify, “loves the army and loves the nation” and needed no recognition.
“On Oct. 23, 2025, the Division of Conflict accepted an nameless donation of $130 million beneath its basic reward acceptance authority,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned in an announcement.
“The donation was made on the situation that or not it’s used to offset the price of service members’ salaries and advantages. We’re grateful for this donor’s help after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”
The contribution got here as hundreds of thousands of federal workers face missed checks and shuttered workplaces on day 24 of the partial authorities shutdown — the second-longest in US historical past.
However consultants warned that the administration might not be capable of legally disburse the cash with out congressional approval.
“The division is welcome to acknowledge this donor’s intent, however that doesn’t change the authorized restrictions on Congress needing to applicable funds to pay army salaries,” Romina Boccia, director of funds and entitlement coverage on the libertarian Cato Institute, informed Fox Information Digital.
Boccia mentioned present regulation solely permits the army to just accept personal items for restricted functions, equivalent to funding colleges, libraries, or services, or serving to troops injured or killed within the line of responsibility.
“The one option to get round this restriction is that if Congress determined to recategorize troop pay as necessary or direct spending,” she mentioned.
Article I of the US Structure offers Congress the ability of the purse — together with the authority to allocate cash for federal salaries.
Protection officers confirmed that the division accepted the donation “beneath its basic reward acceptance authority,” however declined to say whether or not the donor was an American citizen or a international nationwide.
Underneath Pentagon ethics guidelines, items above $10,000 have to be vetted to make sure the donor doesn’t have pursuits “considerably affected” by the reward, and non-US donors face added scrutiny.
Funds analyst Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute informed Politico that the size of the donation highlighted how far the disaster had gone.
Protecting army pay for the primary half of October value about $6.5 billion, in response to the White Home.
Harrison mentioned that primarily based on that determine, the $130 million reward would solely cowl about one-third of someday’s pay.
Trump informed supporters that the donor’s $130 million examine was meant to “contribute any shortfall” attributable to Democrats refusing to cross a spending invoice.
“He referred to as us and mentioned, ‘I’d wish to contribute personally as a result of I really like the army and I really like the nation,’” Trump mentioned.
The White Home referred inquiries in regards to the cash to the Pentagon and the Treasury Division, each of which declined to elaborate.
The Treasury didn’t instantly remark.
