Defense officials said they have accepted an anonymous gift of $130 million from a wealthy donor to help pay military salaries during the government shutdown, but they would not release any additional details about the unusual move.

President Donald Trump announced the donation Thursday, saying that a “friend” offered the money out of a sense of patriotism. As the shutdown grinds on, Defense Department officials have shifted unused research funds to ensure that troops did not miss their mid-month paycheck, but the status of their next direct deposit is uncertain.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that DOD had accepted the money “under its general gift acceptance authority.” The department declined to answer questions about whether the donor is an American citizen or a foreign national.

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” Parnell said. “We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”

White House officials said that covering the cost of military pay for the first half of October totaled about $6.5 billion. Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, said that based on that figure, the new donation will cover about one-third of one day’s pay for the force.

He said certain accounts are available for public donations to federal military programs. But they are typically restricted to specific projects, such as building athletic facilities at military academies, and approved by Congress ahead of time. White House officials did not provide details on how and where this donation would be directed into the federal treasury.

“This sounds like a half baked idea that hasn’t been vetted or implemented,” Harrison said.

>https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/24/dod-accepts-anonymous-130-million-donation-to-partially-cover-troop-pay-00622219