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The nameless donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops throughout the federal government shutdown has been recognized as Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a significant financier of President Donald Trump, in keeping with a report.
Trump introduced the donation on Thursday however declined to disclose the donor’s id, describing him solely as a “patriot” and a buddy. The president once more declined to call the particular person on Friday whereas chatting with reporters aboard Air Power One shortly after departing Washington for Asia, calling the donor “an awesome American citizen” and a “substantial man.”
“He doesn’t need publicity,” Trump mentioned Friday. “He prefers his title to not be talked about, which is kind of uncommon on the planet I come from, and on the planet of politics, you need your title to be talked about.”
However the two individuals accustomed to the matter advised The New York Instances that the person is Mellon, a rich banking inheritor and railroad tycoon.
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The nameless donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops throughout the federal government shutdown has been recognized as Timothy Mellon. (Scott Olson/Getty Photos)
It’s not but clear how lengthy the donation will cowl troopers’ salaries. The Trump administration’s 2025 funds known as for about $600 billion in whole navy compensation, in keeping with the Congressional Finances Workplace.
The $130 million donation would equate to about $100 per service member, in keeping with The New York Times.
Mellon, the grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is a Trump supporter who has donated tens of tens of millions of {dollars} to teams supporting the president’s 2024 marketing campaign. Final yr, he donated $50 million to an excellent PAC supporting Trump, making it one of many largest single contributions ever disclosed, the newspaper famous.
President Donald Trump refused to disclose the donor’s id. (Scott Olson/Getty Photos)
The billionaire was not a outstanding Republican donor till Trump was first elected, however he has donated a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} lately to assist the president and the Republican Social gathering.
He’s additionally a big supporter of Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who additionally ran for president in 2024, first as a Democrat after which as an unbiased, earlier than dropping out to assist Trump. Mellon donated tens of millions to Kennedy’s presidential marketing campaign and likewise donated cash to the secretary’s anti-vaccine nonprofit Kids’s Well being Protection, in keeping with The New York Instances.
Regardless of his political contributions, Mellon has sought to keep up a low profile.
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The Pentagon mentioned it accepted the donation below “normal reward acceptance authority.” (Reuters)
In an autobiography revealed in 2015, Mellon described himself as a former liberal who moved from Connecticut to Wyoming in the hunt for decrease taxes and fewer individuals.
The Pentagon mentioned it accepted the donation below “normal reward acceptance authority.”
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“The donation was made with the situation that or not it’s used to offset the price of navy salaries and advantages,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned in an announcement to The New York Instances.
However the donation could possibly be a possible violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal businesses from spending cash past congressional appropriations or accepting volunteer providers.
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