The U.S. government may have to reject a $130 million donation intended to pay soldiers’ salaries.
The anonymous donor, described by President Donald Trump on Thursday as a patriot and “friend of mine,” gave the donation specifically to pay for soldiers’ salaries during the government shutdown. However, a gridlocked Congress may be the donation’s only hope for approval.
“On October 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. “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.”
The total is a small fraction of the roughly $7.5 billion the Pentagon pays every two weeks for soldiers’ salaries, covering less than a day’s wages. Despite this, the Anti-Deficiency Act might prevent the total from being accepted.
“In general, you may not spend money that has been donated because the Constitution and the Anti-Deficiency Act say that you can’t spend money unless you have an appropriation to make it happen,” Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, told the Washington Post.
He explained that there have been some limited incidents in which Congress has granted the authority to accept donations or gifts to parks, museums, or schools, but donations to pay for salaries violate the law.
Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, agreed in a statement to Fox News.
“The department is welcome to acknowledge this donor’s intent but that does not change the legal restrictions on Congress needing to appropriate funds to pay military salaries,” she said.
In addition to donations to parks, museums, or schools, Boccia said the military has some limited authority to accept donations to support servicemembers or their families who are wounded or killed in combat.
SHUTDOWN HISTORY: SPENDING STANDOFFS SHOW THE NEED FOR NEW BUDGETARY THINKING
“The only way to get around this restriction is if Congress decided to recategorize troop pay as mandatory or direct spending,” Boccia added.
The government shutdown has extended for over 23 days as of Friday, with no end in sight as Republicans and Democrats dig in around a messaging war, blaming the other side.
