The anonymous donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops during the government shutdown has been identified as Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Donald Trump, according to a report.
Trump announced the donation on Thursday, but declined to reveal the donor’s identity, only describing him as a « patriot » and a friend. The president again refused to name the person on Friday while talking to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing Washington for Asia, calling the donor « a great American citizen » and a « substantial man. »
« He doesn’t want publicity, » Trump said on Friday. « He prefer that his name not be mentioned, which is pretty unusual in the world I come from, and in the world of politics, you want your name mentioned. »
But the two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the man is Mellon, a wealthy banking heir and railroad magnate.
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It remains unclear how long the donation will cover the troops’ salaries. The Trump administration’s 2025 budget asked for about $600 billion in total military compensation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The $130 million donation would equal about $100 a service member, according to The New York Times.
Mellon, a grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is a backer of Trump who gave tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting the president’s 2024 campaign. Last year, he gave $50 million to a super PAC supporting Trump, making it one of the largest single contributions ever disclosed, the newspaper noted.
The billionaire was not a prominent Republican donor until Trump was first elected but has given hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years into supporting the president and the GOP.
He is also a significant supporter of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also ran for president in 2024, first as a Democrat and later as an independent before dropping out to endorse Trump. Mellon donated millions to Kennedy’s presidential campaign and has also given money to the secretary’s anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, according to The New York Times.
Despite his political contributions, Mellon has sought to keep a low profile.
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In an autobiography published in 2015, Mellon described himself as a former liberal who moved from Connecticut to Wyoming for lower taxes and fewer people.
The Pentagon said it accepted the donation under the « general gift acceptance authority. »
« The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits, » Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The New York Times.
But the donation may be a potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in excess of congressional appropriations or from accepting voluntary services.
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ally-donated-130-million-pay-troops-amid-shutdown-revealed-reclusive-billionaire-heir
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Publish date : 2025-10-26 00:57:00
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