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The anonymous donor who gave the Pentagon $130 million to pay soldiers during the government shutdown has been identified as Timothy Mellon, the reclusive billionaire and major financial backer of the president. Donald Trumpaccording to the report.
Trump announced the donation on Thursday but declined to reveal the donor's identity, calling him only a “patriot” and friend. The president again declined to name the man Friday while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after leaving Washington for Asia, calling the donor a “great American citizen” and a “serious man.”
“He doesn't want publicity,” Trump said Friday. “He prefers not to have his name mentioned, which is quite unusual in the world I come from, and in the world of politics you want your name to be mentioned.”
But two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the man is Mellon, a wealthy banking heir and railroad magnate.
TRUMP'S SECRET ALLY DONATES $130 MILLION TO COVER TROOPS IN CHAOS OF IMPRISONMENT
The anonymous donor who gave the Pentagon $130 million to pay soldiers during the government shutdown has been identified as Timothy Mellon. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
It remains unclear how long the donation will cover military personnel's salaries. The Trump administration's 2025 budget includes about $600 billion in general military compensation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The $130 million donation would be equivalent to about $100 per service member, the agency said. New York Times.
Mellon, grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, Trump supporter who has donated tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting the 2024 presidential campaign. Last year, he gave $50 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, making it one of the largest single donations ever disclosed, the newspaper noted.
President Donald Trump has refused to reveal the identity of the donor. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The billionaire was not a prominent Republican donor before Trump's first election but has given hundreds of millions of dollars to support the president and the Republican Party in recent years.
He is also a strong supporter of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.who also ran for president in 2024, first as a Democrat and then as an independent before dropping out to support Trump. According to The New York Times, Mellon donated millions to Kennedy's presidential campaign and also gave money to the secretary's anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children's Health Defense.
Despite his political contributions, Mellon tried to keep a low profile.
The Pentagon said it accepted the donation under its “general gift acceptance authority.” (Reuters)
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 its “general gift acceptance authority.”
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“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of military salaries and benefits,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The New York Times.
But the donation could be a potential violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending more money than Congress appropriates or accepting voluntary services.
