Anonymous Donor Gives $130 Million To Cover Shortfall In Troop Pay During Shutdown

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump said on Oct. 23 that an anonymous donor has sent the federal government a $130 million check to cover the shortfall in military troop pay during the ongoing government shutdown.

“He called us the other day and he said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown. I’d like to contribute, personally, contribute any shortfall you have with the military, because I love the military and I love the country, and any shortfall, if there’s a shortfall, I’ll contribute it,’’’ Trump said during a roundtable meeting with his Cabinet.

Trump said the donor—a friend of his—sent the federal government a $130 million check on Thursday, but that the man doesn’t want to be named.

“He doesn’t really want the recognition, if you want to know the truth, but he gave us a check for $130 million, which was sort of a shortfall, and that’s going to go to the military,” the president said.

The previous day, lawmakers had prepared to vote on a bill to pay troops and some other federal employees who are continuing to work through the shutdown.

Introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the bill, the “Shutdown Fairness Act,” offers “a permanent fix that will ensure excepted workers and our troops are paid during a shutdown,” the senator said.

Deemed as essential, excepted federal workers are directed to continue working during any lapses in government funding. They work without pay during the shutdown and receive back pay only after the government is funded again.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved the bill forward on Oct. 21, setting up the vote on Oct. 23.

The legislation failed in the Senate on Thursday, coming short of the 60 votes needed to advance in a 54–45 vote.

Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) joined the majority of Republicans in supporting Johnson’s bill.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) announced ahead of the vote on Thursday that they were preparing alternative measures to pay all federal workers during the government shutdown.

“Our proposal doesn’t discriminate among federal employees,” Van Hollen said in a Senate floor speech.

Titled the “True Shutdown Fairness Act,” Van Hollen’s bill also includes a provision that would block Trump from firing federal workers during the shutdown. Johnson objected when Van Hollen sought unanimous consent for his competing proposal.

So far, there have been 12 votes to temporarily fund and reopen the government since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, all of which failed to reach the 60-vote threshold.

The shutdown has now stretched into the second-longest in U.S. history, with the longest lasting 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019.