Secret donor who funded US troops is Timothy Mellon

Mellon, who lives primarily in Wyoming, keeps a low profile despite his prolific political spending. He is also a key supporter of Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran for president last year. Mellon donated millions to Kennedy’s presidential campaign and also donated money to the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense.

The Pentagon said it accepted the donation under “general gift acceptance authority.”

“The donation was made on the condition that the salaries and benefits of the soldiers will be covered,” Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The donation appears to be a potential violation of the Anti-Incompetence Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money or accepting volunteer services in excess of congressional appropriations.

With more than three weeks until the government shutdown, the Trump administration has taken a series of unorthodox steps to redirect funds to pay certain government employees.

Trump has promised to pay military members, immigration officials and law enforcement, though he has not approved money for politicians’ salaries. Workers in these categories are considered essential and must continue working during the closure, but are entitled to back pay under the 2019 law.

As part of that pledge, Trump signed an executive order this month directing the Pentagon to use unspent research and development funds to cover soldiers’ salaries. But congressional leaders said moving the funds was only a temporary solution.

Thousands of federal workers missed their first paychecks last week. About 670,000 workers have been furloughed, according to a calculation by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based think tank. Approximately 730,000 people work unpaid.

In his self-published autobiography in 2015, Mellon describes himself as a former liberal who moved from Connecticut to Wyoming for lower taxes and fewer neighbors.

His book also includes several provocative passages about race. He wrote that black people became “even more belligerent” after the expansion of social programs in the 1960s and 1970s, and that social safety net programs amounted to “abolishing slavery.”

Loading

In the northern summer of 2024, Mellon wrote another book about his work covering Pan Am Systems, a conglomerate that includes railroad, aviation and marketing firms. The book was published by Skyhorse Publishing, which also published a recent memoir by First Lady Melania Trump. Tony Lyons, president of Skyhorse Publishing, co-founded American Values ​​2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy’s presidential bid.

During a rare and brief interview in 2020 New York TimesMellon declined to answer questions about his political donations.

“I’ll contribute to him, Biden or whoever I want,” he said, referring to Trump and his rival Joe Biden. “I don’t need to tell you why.”