Timothy Mellon identified donor to pay US troops during shutdown: report
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The anonymous donor who gave the Pentagon $130 million 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 identify the donor, describing him only as a “patriot” and friend. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing Washington for Asia on Friday, the president once again declined to name the donor, calling him a “great American citizen” and “an important man.”
“He doesn’t want any publicity,” Trump said Friday. “He prefers his name not to be mentioned, which is quite unusual in the world I come from, and you want your name to be mentioned in the world of politics.”
But two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the man was Mellon, a wealthy bank heir and railroad magnate.
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The anonymous donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay soldiers during the government shutdown has been identified as Timothy Mellon. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
It is not yet clear how long the donation will cover soldiers’ salaries. The Trump administration’s 2025 budget called for nearly $600 billion in total military compensation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The $130 million donation will equal approximately $100 per soldier. New York Times.
Mellon, the grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is one of Trump’s supporters who has given tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting the president’s 2024 campaign. The newspaper said he gave $50 million to a super PAC supporting Trump last year, one of the largest contributions ever disclosed.
President Donald Trump has refused to identify the donor. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The billionaire wasn’t a major Republican donor until Trump was first elected but has given hundreds of millions of dollars to support the president and the GOP in recent years.
He is also a key supporter of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running 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.
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The Pentagon said it accepted the donation under “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 “general gift acceptance authority.”
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Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The New York Times, “The donation was made on the condition that the salaries and benefits of the soldiers will be covered.” he said.
But the donation could be a potential violation of the Antideciency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in excess of congressional appropriations or accepting volunteer services.
