OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:05 PM – Saturday, October 25, 2025
The Pentagon received an unprecedented anonymous donation of $130 million to cover military paychecks during the government shutdown.
In early October, President Donald Trump said that a “wealthy” donor offered to pay the salaries of military members if the government ran out of money in the shutdown.
The president also signed a presidential memorandum earlier this month directing United States Department of War funds to temporarily compensate military personnel during the lapse in federal funding.
On Friday, Trump said that a “friend” sent the check to make up for the shutdown.
The president declined to identify the individual, but praised the donor as a patriot.
“A friend of mine, a man that’s great — I’m not gonna use his name unless he lets me do it … He called us the other day and said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown… because I love the military and I love the country,’” Trump said on Friday.
When reporters asked for the donor’s name, Trump said, “I would love to tell you. He deserves — he doesn’t really want the recognition, if you want to know the truth.”
“That’s what I call a patriot,” Trump added.
“On Oct. 23, 2025, the Department of War accepted an anonymous donation of $130 million under its general gift acceptance authority,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement, confirming they received the large sum. “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.”
Financial experts question the legality of the donation, however, considering that under Pentagon ethics rules, gifts above $10,000 must be vetted to avoid any conflict of interest.
Federal officials said that the department accepted the donation “under its general gift acceptance authority.”
Military salaries for the first half of October cost about $6.5 billion, according to the White House. Based on that estimate, the $130 million gift might only cover payments for one-third of one workday, according to Budget analyst Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute, who stressed the scope of the federal funding lapse.
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