The Pentagon confirmed on October 24 that it received an anonymous donation of $130 million to help cover the salaries and benefits of soldiers during the government's closure.
The US Department of Defense accepted the donation under its common gift-receiving rights on October 23, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
"The donation is made on the condition that it will be used to compensate for the salaries and benefits of soldiers. We appreciate the sponsor's support after the Democrats decided to keep the salaries paid to the soldiers," said Mr. Parnell.
President Donald Trump announced the donation in a speech at the White House on October 23, saying that a "patriote" and "my friend" have expressed their desire to contribute to any budget shortages caused by the US Government shutdown.
However, the $130 million donation is unlikely to cover the billions of dollars that the government spends every two weeks to cover salaries and benefits for soldiers.
The basic salary and allowances for US soldiers are up to about 6.5 billion USD per cycle, according to Todd Harrison - a senior fellow of the American Enterprise Institute.
On October 23, the US Senate failed to pass a Republican bill to pay salaries to serving soldiers and other federal employees that are considered essential in the context of a government shutdown. The Democrats have proposed an alternative to pay all federal employees affected by the shutdown, but that plan has failed.
