President Trump's 'friend' donates $130 million to pay
military service members' salaries during government shutdown, sparking
controversy among legal experts.
Speaking at a roundtable Thursday, the president revealed
that his “friend” called him to say he wanted to contribute “if there's a
shortfall.” The man then sent a check for $130 million, Trump said.
The Department of Defense accepted an anonymous donation
Thursday “under its general gift acceptance authority,” Pentagon spokesperson
Sean Parnell said. “The donation was made on the condition that it be used to
offset the cost of Service members' salaries and benefits.”
The money for service member compensation comes from yearly
appropriations made by Congress. However, those appropriations expired on
October 1st, and the United States is currently experiencing the second-longest
shutdown in its history.
Trump gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructions
earlier this month to use "all available funds" to make sure troops
are paid during the budget delay.
The anonymous donation has sparked some concerns.
A spokesperson for Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the top
Democrat on the defense appropriations subcommittee, told
The Independent: “Using anonymous donations to fund our military raises
troubling questions of whether our own troops are at risk of literally being
bought and paid for by foreign powers. Nobody wants to see our men and women in
uniform work without pay, and the best way to pay our troops would be for
President Trump and Republicans to work with Democrats to reopen the government
and address the skyrocketing costs affecting American families.”
According to a March Department of Defense guideline,
acceptance authority must confer with an ethics official prior to accepting
presents for more than $10,000.
The regulation also demands some investigation of the donor, like ensuring the donor “does not have interests that may be affected substantially by the performance or nonperformance of the DoD employee’s official duties.”
The statute makes it illegal for federal agencies to spend more money than Congress has authorized.
How many salaries that sum of money would cover is not immediately apparent.
Matthew Lawrence, a former White House budget manager and law professor at Emory University, also voiced doubt, citing the Constitution's Army Clause, which gives Congress the power to "raise and support" the armed forces.
What ethics rules govern accepting large conditional
donations?
Organizations must consider if the patron’s background or
how their democrats earned conflicts with the association’s charge or public
image. Donations from sources involved in reprehensible conditioning could be
morally problematic.
Fact- finding the patron and understanding all terms of the donation are pivotal. This includes translucency about conditions and implicit conflicts of interest. Organizations should weigh the enterprises of crucial stakeholders similar to heirs, staff, and the public and prioritize the charge when deciding to accept or reject finances.
Associations should validate their decision- making processes regarding donations and communicate easily to the public to maintain trust. Accepting donations with conditions requires scrutiny to ensure conditions do n't compromise independence, legitimacy, or ethical norms.