The Trump administration has accepted a $130 million donation from an anonymous private donor and will use the funds to help pay troops during the government shutdown.
The president on Thursday night said at a White House event that the donor was a friend and a “patriot” but declined to name him.
The donation won’t go very far in covering the salaries of service members. With more than 1.3 million active-duty troops, the donation works out to about $100 per person. Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, told Politico that the donation will cover about one-third of one day’s pay for the military.
At the same time, the money also raises additional legal and ethical concerns.
“The move to pay the troops with private donations is highly unusual and a potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in excess of congressional appropriations or from accepting voluntary services,” The New York Times notes.
William Hoagland, a former Senate GOP budget aide who is now a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told CNN that the law may allow the administration to accept the donation but it is “very clear” that the money can’t be used to pay the troops. “The Antideficiency Act is explicit that private donations cannot be used to offset a lapse in appropriations,” Hoagland said.
CNN’s Adam Cancryn added that the administration hadn’t provided key details about the donation: “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.”