{"id":239464,"date":"2025-10-25T15:31:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/239464\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T15:31:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T15:31:16","slug":"pentagon-accepts-anonymous-130-million-donation-to-pay-military-during-government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/239464\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon accepts anonymous $130-million donation to pay military during government shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pentagon, pictured in Arlington, Va., has accepted an anonymous US$130-million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown.Carlos Barria\/Reuters<\/p>\n

The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it has accepted an anonymous US$130-million gift to help pay members of the military during the government shutdown, raising ethical questions after President Donald Trump<\/a> had announced that a friend had offered the gift to defray any shortfalls.<\/p>\n

While large and unusual, the gift amounts to a small contribution toward the billions needed to cover service member paychecks. The Trump administration told Congress last week that it used US$6.5-billion to make payroll. The next payday is coming within the week, and it is unclear if the administration will again move money around to ensure the military does not go without compensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what I call a patriot,\u201d Trump said during a White House event on Thursday when he disclosed the payment from the donor.<\/p>\n

The President declined to name the person, whom he called \u201ca friend of mine,\u201d saying the man didn\u2019t want the recognition.<\/p>\n

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The Pentagon confirmed it had accepted the donation on Thursday \u201cunder its general gift acceptance authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members\u2019 salaries and benefits,\u201d said Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the Pentagon. \u201cWe are grateful for this donor\u2019s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress is at a stalemate over the government shutdown, now on track to become one of the longest federal closures ever, in its 24th day. Neither Republicans, who have control of the House and Senate, nor Democrats, in the minority, are willing to budge in their broader standoff over health care funding.<\/p>\n

Payment for service members is a key concern among lawmakers of both parties as well as a point of political leverage. The Trump administration shifted US$8-billion from military research and development funds to make payroll last week, ensuring that military compensation did not lapse.<\/p>\n

But it is unclear if the Trump administration will be willing \u2013 or able \u2013 to shift money again next week as tensions rise over the protracted shutdown.<\/p>\n

While the US$130-million is a hefty sum, it would cover just a fraction of the billions needed for military paychecks. Trump said the donation was to cover any \u201cshortfall.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s unclear, however, is the regulations around such a donation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s crazy,\u201d said Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a non-partisan organization focused on the federal government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s treating the payment of our uniformed services as if someone\u2019s picking up your bar tab.\u201d<\/p>\n

He questioned the legality of the donation and called for more transparency around it.<\/p>\n

Pentagon policy says authorities \u201cmust consult with their appropriate Ethics Official before accepting such a gift valued in excess of $10,000 to determine whether the donor is involved in any claims, procurement actions, litigation, or other particular matters involving the Department that must be considered prior to gift acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: The Pentagon, pictured in Arlington, Va., has accepted an anonymous US$130-million gift to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,43,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,41,39,42,40,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-239464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-headlines","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}