Topline
The Pentagon accepted a $130 million anonymous donation from a “friend” of President Donald Trump to help pay military members during the government shutdown, a Defense Department spokesperson said Friday —though the amount will cover only a fraction of the pay owed to soldiers.
Key Facts
Trump revealed the donation Thursday and the Pentagon said Friday it accepted the money “under its general gift acceptance authority,” spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to multiple outlets.
Trump said the money came from “a friend of mine” who “doesn’t really want the recognition.”
It’s unclear what budgetary maneuvers the administration will use to ensure the donation is legal—donations over $10,000 must be reviewed by ethics officers to ensure “the donor does not have interests that may be affected substantially” by the gift, Politico reported, citing Department of Defense rules.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questioned in a statement to CNN whether the donation is a violation of the Anti Deficiency Act, which prohibits the federal government from spending money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress.
Big Number
$6.5 billion. That’s how much military pay cost the federal government in the first half of October, according to the White House, meaning the private donation would cover one-third of one day’s pay for the military, American Enterprise Institute defense budget analyst Todd Harrison told Politico.