Trump’s Illegal “Troop Pay” Scheme Assaults Congress’s Power of the Purse

The Guardian has confirmed that President Trump not only accepted a $130 million “donation” from billionaire Timothy Mellon to pay U.S. troops during the shutdown, but also repurposed $8 billion in Pentagon research funds to do the same. Both actions are almost certainly illegal under the Antideficiency Act, which forbids spending money Congress hasn’t appropriated—or using funds for purposes Congress never approved. This is not just a fiscal stunt. It is a constitutional crisis. Experts across the political spectrum—from the American Enterprise Institute to the Center for American Progress—agree that Trump is shifting the power of the purse from Congress to himself, daring anyone to stop him. It is the same pattern we saw when he used a “pocket rescission” to withhold foreign aid funds, or when he diverted defense money to build his border wall. Now he’s testing whether he can crowdfund the military through his billionaire friends. Timothy Mellon, the Trump megadonor behind the $130 million check, has called Black Americans “slaves of a new master—Uncle Sam,” and spent millions pushing election denial and racist propaganda. This is not patriotism. It’s plutocracy. Once the armed services begin taking money from private individuals, they cease to be national institutions and become private militias. This cannot stand. Congress alone controls the power of the purse. That authority is the last defense against an executive who would fund his own agendas, deploy troops on U.S. soil without authorization, or “spend money into existence,” as one expert warned. Investigate this immediately. Subpoena the details of the Mellon donation and the repurposed DoD funds. Reinforce and enforce the Antideficiency Act. And for God’s sake—end the shutdown, extend the ACA tax credits, block Trump’s abuse of the pocket rescission, and release the full Epstein files. Pay the troops and federal workers the right way—through lawful appropriations, not billionaire patronage. Every day you delay, the republic slips closer to a pay-to-play government where democracy is auctioned off to the highest bidder.