CaliToday (27/10/2025): The mystery donor President Donald Trump hailed as a "great patriot" for offering to pay U.S. service members during the protracted government shutdown has been identified. The New York Times has confirmed the benefactor is Timothy Mellon, the reclusive heir to a Gilded Age banking fortune and one of the largest financial backers of Mr. Trump's political career.
Mellon's staggering $130 million donation, however, has ignited a legal and political firestorm, with critics panning the move as a symbolic stunt that is both wildly inadequate and likely illegal.
The controversy began Thursday at the White House when President Trump announced the donation but kept the donor's name secret. "He's a great patriot, a friend of mine," Trump said. "He's a big supporter of mine, a great person, and he doesn't want the credit."
A "Drop in the Bucket"
While $130 million is a monumental sum, it is a mere fraction of what is required to fund the U.S. military.
The gesture, intended to cover salaries and benefits for troops left unpaid by the shutdown, amounts to approximately $100 per service member. According to defense analysts, the actual cost to pay the entire 1.3 million-strong active-duty force is roughly $6.4 billion every two weeks.
The Trump administration's 2025 budget itself proposed $600 billion for military pay and benefits, a figure that dwarfs Mellon's contribution and highlights its purely symbolic nature.
A Legal and Ethical Quagmire
More concerning for Washington lawmakers are the serious legal questions surrounding the donation. According to The Times, the use of such a private gift likely violates the Antideficiency Act, a long-standing law that explicitly prohibits federal agencies from spending any money not appropriated by the U.S. Congress.
The act is designed to protect Congress's "power of the purse" and prevent the executive branch—or, in this case, private citizens—from funding the government's essential functions.
The move has drawn sharp condemnation from Democrats. A spokesperson for Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) warned of a dangerous precedent.
"Using anonymous donations to fund our military is deeply concerning," the spokesperson said, "as it raises the question of whether our armed forces are being 'bought' by outside forces and private interests."
The Reclusive Mega-Donor
Timothy Mellon, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be nearly $1 billion, is an heir to the Mellon banking family, one of America's most powerful financial dynasties. Despite his immense wealth, he maintains a low profile, even emailing media outlets in 2024 to state: "I am not a billionaire — never have been, never will be."
Mellon is no stranger to nine-figure political checks. He has been a steadfast supporter of President Trump, making headlines during the 2024 election cycle by donating a jaw-dropping $50 million to Trump's Super PAC—one of the largest single political contributions ever made public.
Mellon's $130 million "gift" is now being viewed through that political lens: less as a disinterested act of patriotism and more as a powerful political statement from a key presidential ally, aimed at supporting Mr. Trump during a contentious legislative standoff.