As the government shutdown entered its fourth week, an anonymous American patriot donated an astounding $130 million to ensure that U.S. service members received their paychecks — a move that President Trump praised as both generous and deeply patriotic.
“He’s a great gentleman,” President Trump told reporters Friday before departing for his Asia trip. “He’s a patron… a wonderful man.” The president emphasized that the donor — an American citizen and personal friend — insisted on remaining anonymous, calling it “pretty unusual in the world I come from.”
“In politics, people usually want credit. He doesn’t,” Trump said. “He’s a great patriot.”
According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, the donation was made on the condition that it be used specifically to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits during the shutdown. The act of generosity ensures that troops who missed pay due to Washington gridlock can continue to support their families.
The donation comes just one day after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led bill that would have guaranteed pay for active-duty military, law enforcement, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, park rangers, ICE officers, and Border Patrol agents — all critical personnel working without pay.
The measure, introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), failed 54-45 after nearly all Democrats voted against it. Only Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) broke ranks to stand with Republicans and America’s frontline workers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dismissed the bill as “another tool for Trump to hurt federal workers,” a claim Johnson sharply rejected, calling it a deliberate distortion of a commonsense effort to help American families and those who protect the nation.
