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The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it accepted an anonymous $130 million donation to help cover military pay and benefits during the ongoing government shutdown — an unprecedented move that has raised concerns in Congress about transparency and foreign influence.
Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that the gift was accepted Thursday under the Pentagon’s “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. We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops,” Parnell said.
President Donald Trump first revealed the donation Thursday at the White House, describing the contributor as a “patriot” and “friend of mine” who wished to remain anonymous.
“He called us the other day and he said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown. I’d like to contribute, personally contribute, any shortfall you have with the military, because I love the military and I love the country,’” Trump said. “And today, he sent us a check for $130 million.”
A rare and controversial contribution
Pentagon officials did not disclose the donor’s identity or whether any background or national-security vetting had been conducted.
A spokesman for Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, said the donation’s anonymity raised “troubling questions.”
“Using anonymous donations to fund our military raises troubling questions of whether our own troops are at risk of literally being bought and paid for by foreign powers,” the spokesman said.
While the amount is large for a private gift, it represents only a fraction of what is needed to cover military pay. The Defense Department spends roughly $6.5 billion every two weeks on troops’ salaries and benefits, according to Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Shutdown strain and political standoff
The donation comes as the government shutdown enters its third week with no agreement in sight. The Senate on Thursday failed to pass competing bills — a Republican measure to fund pay for active-duty service members and essential workers, and a Democratic alternative to pay all affected federal employees.
Trump has blamed Democrats for blocking military pay, while Democrats argue the president is using the troops as leverage to pressure Congress into passing a broader spending package that includes his priorities.
To ease the funding crunch, Trump on Oct. 11 ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use $8 billion in unobligated funds from the Pentagon’s research and development accounts to cover mid-October payroll. It remains unclear how long those funds will last if the shutdown continues.
The Pentagon’s acceptance of private donations for such purposes is highly unusual and may test the limits of existing defense funding laws. Ethics experts and lawmakers are already calling for congressional oversight and for the department to disclose whether it verified the source of the $130 million gift.
