Trump ally Timothy Mellon revealed as $130M donor covering troop pay during shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC: A reclusive billionaire and longtime Donald Trump supporter, Timothy Mellon, has been identified as the anonymous donor who gave $130 million to help pay US troops during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking dynasty, donated through the Pentagon to offset the salaries and benefits of service members.

Trump had previously described the unnamed donor as a “friend,” a “great American,” and a “patriot,” but had declined to reveal his identity, saying that the individual didn’t want publicity.

“He prefers that his name not be mentioned, which is pretty unusual in the world I come from,” Trump told reporters on Friday, October 24, before departing for Malaysia.

Pentagon accepts the gift 

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that the Department of Defense had accepted the money under its “general gift acceptance authority.”

“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” Parnell said in a statement.

The donation equates to roughly $100 per service member and was reportedly processed through the Treasury.

But legal experts have warned the reported move could violate the Antideficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from spending funds not appropriated by Congress or from accepting voluntary services except in emergencies involving the safety of human life or property.

Critics have also argued that allowing a politically connected donor to fund the military during a shutdown undermines civilian control and congressional authority over spending.

The White House has referred all relevant questions to the Treasury Department, which has not yet commented.

From railroad heir to alleged political mega-donor

Mellon, 83, is the grandson of Andrew Mellon, the Gilded Age industrialist and former US Treasury Secretary under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. 

A retired railroad magnate who lives primarily in Wyoming, Timothy Mellon has allegedly become one of the Republican Party’s most powerful financiers in recent years.

According to OpenSecrets, a campaign finance watchdog, Mellon reportedly poured more than $165 million into the 2024 election cycle, including $125 million to Make America Great Again Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump’s campaign.

He also allegedly funded Robert F Kennedy Jr’s political ventures and his organization, Children’s Health Defense.

In 2021, Mellon reportedly donated $53 million to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s border wall fund, one of the largest single private contributions in state history.

The Mellon family, reportedly with an estimated $14 billion fortune as of 2024, remains among America’s wealthiest dynasties.

Timothy Mellon’s personal net worth is believed to range from $700 million to $4 billion.

Long skeptical of government spending, Mellon has described taxation as “legalized theft” and repeatedly argued that welfare programs encourage “dependency.”