President Trump’s ‘friend’ donates $130 million to military during government shutdown
The Pentagon has announced that it will accept an anonymous $130 million donation from allies of President Trump that will be used to pay military personnel.
The Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed to USA TODAY that military personnel will be paid on Oct. 31, despite a lack of funding due to the ongoing government shutdown.
OMB said the agency is withdrawing funds from three different financial accounts to cover $5.3 billion in military spending, including $2.5 billion from a military spending account allocated as part of the Big Beautiful Act.
According to the Department of Defense, the typical payday for active duty military personnel is Friday, October 31st. Payments are typically made twice a month, once in the middle of the month and once at the end of the month.
Despite the lack of funding, military pay was on schedule on October 15 after President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to pay service members “spendable balances.”
Most other federal employees are paid on a biweekly schedule, with their next payday set for Nov. 7. With the exception of the military and some Department of Homeland Security employees, other federal employees were not paid during the shutdown. The last partial paycheck on Oct. 10 included hours worked before the shutdown.
Will military personnel receive their paycheck on October 31st?
Yes, service members will receive payments on Oct. 31, OMB confirmed to USA TODAY.
OMB announced that a total of $5.3 billion was being withdrawn from three accounts to pay the military. $2.5 billion from the Big Beautiful Bill Account, $1.4 billion from the Department of Defense Procurement Account, and $1.4 billion from the Research and Development Account.
Axios first reported the news on October 29th.
The Department of Defense also confirmed that military personnel will be paid. The Department of the Army, officially the Pentagon, praised President Trump in a statement while condemning Democrats, along with other agencies in the administration.
“Despite the fact that Democrats are shutting down the government and leaving our bravest men and women without pay, President Trump remains true to his promise to take care of our military,” the statement said.
The announcement came after Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters on Oct. 28 that military personnel would be paid on Oct. 31, according to reports.
What you need to know about promoting payments to military personnel during the government shutdown
Despite being paid on Oct. 31, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Oct. 26 that if the shutdown continues, active-duty troops will begin working without pay by Nov. 15. USA TODAY has contacted the Treasury Department for more information.
In early October, the Trump administration announced it had received $130 million in checks from private donors to cover the salaries of active-duty military personnel. The check does not appear to have been raised for the Oct. 31 payroll, and it is unclear how it will be used.
Some lawmakers are calling for military pay to be preserved during the shutdown. A group of Republican senators led by Ron Johnson of Wisconsin introduced a bill known as the Shutdown Fairness Act on October 15th. The bill would guarantee paychecks for military personnel and other essential workers who remain on duty during the shutdown. However, this bill was rejected in a Senate vote on October 23rd.
Will the military receive back pay once the government shutdown ends?
Under the Public Employees Fair Treatment Act of 2019, passed during the last government shutdown, federal employees who were furloughed while federal funding expired are entitled to back pay for time logged during the government shutdown.
This means that all federal employees, including military personnel, will receive retroactive pay after the shutdown ends for hours worked that were not paid during the shutdown.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, essential employees who are still working during the closure period should continue to record their hours according to special instructions from their institution’s payroll provider.
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
