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DDonald Trump’s administration is using a big private donation and an executive order to make a big deal about efforts to keep members of the armed services paid. During the federal government shutdown, which is now In its 25th day.
But experts agree that the White House and Pentagon efforts likely crossed the line of illegality. Now the question is whether it has any importance anymore?
When Democrats and Republicans failed to meet an October 1 deadline to fund the government for the current fiscal year, Congress began a countdown. More than a million Americans employed in some form or another by the federal government were deprived of a pay check when the clock struck zero.
It did so on October 15, resulting in hundreds of thousands of workers not getting paid. The same day, Trump signed an executive order restarting that clock for service members, directing the Pentagon to ensure that the military continues to be paid.
The order states, “Funds used for military pay and allowances during the current default must be those provided for purposes determined by the Secretary of War, that have a reasonable, logical relationship with the pay and allowances of military personnel, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a).”
Most non-partisan experts agree: The move was likely a violation of the Antideficiency Act, even despite the administration’s efforts to circumvent its requirements through Trump’s order. The law prohibits federal agencies from spending any money that has not been appropriated by Congress, and generally prohibits them from accepting donations. Like Timothy Mellon, A major financial backer of Trump’s bid for president in 2024, Who invested $130 million to contribute to military salaries. There are several requirements set out by law that the Trump administration is clearly violating, including the use of charity funds without congressional approval.
administrative officer A separate $8 billion in other funds was reported He said they have made sure to pay service members. But that funding is set to expire at the end of October. It is also a potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, given that at least some of it was transferred from research and development funds the Pentagon claimed it had no obligation to spend; Money was appropriated by Congress for that purpose, regardless of what year it was used.
“When President Trump used funds authorized solely for the purpose of supporting R&D to pay troops, he used existing funds for a purpose that was not permitted by that appropriation. He also spent funds to pay troops when he did not have a usable appropriation for that purpose,” explained Bobby Kogan, former adviser to the Office of Management and Budget. blog For the Center for American Progress.
Rich Brady, an expert in defense financial management for the Society of Defense Financial Management, Added to Federal News Network: “The research and development dollars that were appropriated in 2025 are good for obligation in fiscal year 2025 and fiscal 2026 — that’s two years, so they’ve got some flexibility in that account. The question is how much can they legally transfer and use for military pay purposes? It’s probably not going to be included in the whole $8 billion they’re talking about.”
Between the donation from Mellon and the use of R&D funds, there are at least three potential violations of the Antideficiency Act that experts have pointed out in view of the first October 15 paycheck deadline.
The 2026 NDAA remains in Congress, which is deadlocked due to the shutdown and Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to send the House home until it is finished. The NDAA bill has been passed in both houses, but is stuck in reconciliation. The committees are projected to complete their work by Thanksgiving, with final passage of the bill before the end of the calendar year.
Unless that legislation reaches Donald Trump’s desk, military members’ pay is at risk. Congress has until the end of the week before federal employees and service members miss another paycheck. Members of the House and Senate could reach agreement on a bill to temporarily increase military pay to current levels, as the chambers have done with proposals for a continuation through 2024, but those talks are currently on hold amid the shutdown.
The real question in a Trumpized country and justice system is: Does any of this matter?
Whether something violates the law and whether the law has been enforced are two different matters. In this scenario, the latter is the far more relevant question as Donald Trump’s Justice Department has followed a clear trend in its prosecution. Benefiting celebrities like the mayor of New York City eric adams And Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents.
Trump’s DOJ is clearly more interested in pursuing criminal charges against his political enemies, even at the cost of forcing career prosecutors to resign in protest. It appears that the only possibility for criminal charges resulting from these violations would be under the new administration. Still, the agency will be under far greater pressure to focus on other prosecutions related to Trump’s second presidency, such as military strikes against ships in the Caribbean that the administration alleges are drug traffickers, which even one Republican senator on Sunday called “extrajudicial killings.”
Given past precedents, it is also highly likely that Donald Trump will issue a large number of pardons for members of his team before leaving office. This could further complicate or completely bar any criminal charges against Pete Hegseth, his Secretary of Defense, or members of Hegseth’s team.
That is to say, the odds are stacked against any type of law enforcement action arising from gross and multifaceted violations of federal law.