Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members

By Adam Cancryn, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Department confirmed on Friday.

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNN, adding that the money was accepted under the department’s “general gift acceptance authority.”

The move marks a striking departure from government procedure for funding the military, which traditionally relies on public funds appropriated by Congress. And it raised immediate questions about the donor’s identity and motivations for cutting the nine-figure check to the government.

The $130 million donation is unlikely to make any meaningful impact toward covering salaries of the roughly 1.3 million active duty military troops, netting out to about $100 per service member.

Congressional appropriators on both sides of the aisle said Friday that they were seeking more information from the administration about the specifics of the donation, but had yet to receive any explanation.

Democrats also raised concerns about its legality, contending that the gift acceptance authority cited by the Pentagon only permits gifts for a handful of specific purposes — such as funding military schools, hospitals, cemeteries or to benefit wounded troops or the dependents of those injured or killed in the line of duty. Donations can also face additional, tighter restrictions if they come from foreign governments or organizations.

“Using anonymous donations to fund our military raises troubling questions of whether our own troops are at risk of literally being bought and paid for by foreign powers,” Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate’s defense appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement.

Budget experts also questioned whether using the donation to pay military members runs afoul of the Antideficiency Act, which forbids federal agencies from using federal funds that exceed what have been allocated to them. Democrats have accused the administration of violating that law multiple times during the shutdown, including in its decision to fire thousands of federal workers.

“The Antideficiency Act is explicit that private donations cannot be used to offset a lapse in appropriations,” said Bill Hoagland, a former Senate GOP budget aide who is currently a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“I think they could accept it but they could not use it for that purpose because the law is very clear,” Hoagland told CNN.

Trump on Thursday had touted the $130 million donation, which he said came from “a friend of mine” with the aim of covering military shortfalls. He declined to identify the donor, saying “he doesn’t really want the recognition.”

In response to questions about the donor’s identity and whether they have any ties to foreign entities or interests, a White House spokeswoman referred questions to the Pentagon and Treasury. The Pentagon then referred those questions back to the White House. Treasury did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Pentagon referred to the donation as an “anonymous” contribution and also did not respond to questions about whether it planned to brief Congress on the details of its use.

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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