When Private Billions Pay the Troops: The Hidden Risk to Democracy

What happens when a billionaire like Timothy Mellon fills in for Congress? And why that isn’t a rescue...it may be a red flag.

*Timothy Mellon, front and center, surrounded by Mellon family members…who were the beginnings of the Mellon family dynasty.

Author’s note:

Yesterday, millions of people read a CNBC article that had the following key points:

1. The donor whose $130 million contribution is earmarked to pay the U.S. military during the government shutdown is Timothy Mellon, The New York Times reported

2. Railroad magnate Mellon, whose net worth has been estimated at close to $1 billion, is an heir to the Gilded Age Mellon family.

3. “He’s a great gentleman. He’s a great patriot ... and he’s a big supporter of mine,” President Donald Trump said, without identifying the donor.

This issue of Jack Hopkins Now was written to address this revelation…and the risk it presents.

*A link to the CNBC article will be found at the end of this newsletter.

When Private Billions Pay the Troops: The Hidden Risk to Democracy

What happens when a billionaire like Timothy Mellon fills in for Congress? And why that isn’t a rescue...it may be a red flag.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #620: Sunday, October 26th, 2025.

A Patriot With a Billion-Dollar Check

Imagine this: the federal government grinds to a halt. (Yes…it has.)

Hundreds of thousands of uniformed American soldiers face a missed paycheck. Congress is deadlocked. The public watches the pay freeze headlines…and then $130 million appears. Transfer sent. Troops get paid.

The donor is initially anonymous. Soon it emerges: Timothy Mellon, heir of an industrial dynasty…major political backer of Donald Trump…reclusive billionaire.

He gave the money during this government shutdown…to ensure the troops were paid.

On its face…heroic.
On the surface…relief.

Underneath…a question: Who just took responsibility that Congress should have borne?

And blueprints for trouble emerge.

The Power Shift Nobody Wanted to See

When a democracy works…public institutions…Congress…the armed services…the executive…are accountable to voters…constrained by law.

When private actors step in with massive sums…they shift who controls the institution.

Mellon’s gift was accepted by the Department of Defense under its “general gift acceptance” authority.

It was contingent on use: “offset pay and benefits.”
But it bypassed the normal appropriation process.

What does that mean in plain English?

It means: a private individual used wealth to temporarily step into a role behind the budget and check-and-balance apparatus.

And while his name is obscured…the effect is loud.

Because what accepts a billionaire’s money in place of Congress reveals what can shift in power…if unexamined.

Why This Doesn’t Belong In Democracy

A) Surrogate for public responsibility

Soldiers get paid. Good. But the reason they get paid in the first place is because we… citizens…approve a national budget…tax revenue…and democratic governance.

When a billionaire pays instead…we create a parallel structure: the public expectation is still of the military’s paycheck…only now that paycheck is backed by someone who answers mostly to himself.

That is a fundamental redesign of our accountability chain.

B) Messaging & influence

Billionaire donors already move elections. Mellon’s political donations were in the hundreds of millions.

Now he pays troops. The link between “big money + influence” just got upgraded to “big money + national-security function.”

When the donor wields influence in elections and in critical institutions, the overlap is dangerous.

C) Precedent for privatization of coercive force

The military is one of the central coercive instruments of the state…the ultimate public asset.

When pay depends on private generosity…not public decision-making…the instrument of coercion begins to shift allegiance.

Even if subtly…the loyalty map changes: to the donor’s check…not the taxpayer’s vote.

D) Opacity & risk of manipulation

The gift was anonymous at first.
The donor’s identity and conditions were partly concealed.

We don’t know if ties to other interests exist…financial…political…or ideological.
That’s not just shadowy…it’s a recipe for influence without transparency.

How Democracy Loses When You Strongly Do the Right Thing

No one wants to say “That billionaire paying troops is bad.” On the contrary, it seems noble. The problem is structure, not intention.

1) The quiet transfer

The public gets the good result (troops paid). The headline says “private patriot helps military.”

But behind it…responsibility moves off the books of democratic institutions.
When this happens again and again…institutions become optional…public trust erodes…and power centralizes.

2) The moral hazard

If one wealthy individual steps in…to bail out dysfunction…institutions start counting… on that.

Budget cuts…gridlock…shutdowns…those become tolerable because “someone will fix it.”
Accountability declines. Risk rises.

3) The elite capture

Someone with wealth, political alignment (huge donations to Trump), and proximity to power now does what only Congress and the people’s system should do.
That’s capture: elite resources steering state function…bypassing electoral consent.

4) The one-shot test

Think of this $130 m donation as a test case. If it works once…why not again?
If it becomes repeatable…you don’t have ad hoc philanthropies…you have alternative state financing…by private actors.

At that point…democracy’s mechanics get replaced by patronage.

What You and the Citizen Must Ask

• Who authorized this gift…and why was normal legislative appropriation skipped?

• What…if any…expectation of access or policy influence came with the gift?

• Will future paychecks depend on another private donor drop?

• When democracy backs away from institutional pay and power…what replaces it?

• Are we comfortable that an unelected billionaire just exercised a major national-security function?

Your silence is the opening. Your question is the electric gate back to accountability.

The Bigger Picture: It’s Not Just This One Donation

Mellon already gave massive sums to political causes…$50 million to a pro-Trump PAC alone.

He gave to border-wall funds, anti-tax campaigns, and ideological infrastructure.
Suddenly, paying troops is part of the same portfolio of influence.

In the broad sweep of democracy:

• Money buys campaigns

• Campaigns shift policy

• Policy execution needs budget

• Now budget…or critical state function…depends on the private check

That’s progress undermined…step by step.

But Don’t Lose Sight of the Uncommon Good

We’re not saying the donation is malicious. There’s a case for funding troops during a shutdown.

But whether good or well-intentioned…this moves the power lever…and power without accountability is tyranny’s anchor.

If you’re paying attention…this moment becomes a learning point:
When private money replaces public mission…the state loses its fundamental contract with the people.

Your Role: Citizen Integrity in a Billionaire-Backed Age

Demand disclosure:

The identity of the donor…the conditions…the use of funds…all ought to be public.

Hold institutions accountable.

Congress should do its job. If the military can’t pay because of legislative gridlock…that’s a system failure folks are now asking someone else to fix.

Support independent oversight.

Media…watchdogs…IGs…they all matter. Because when a gift is anonymous…someone still needs to ask: Why?

Maintain awareness.

Just because it’s troops-pay doesn’t mean composed of democracy-safe logic.

Preserve the message:

The state’s functions aren’t optional charity…they’re institutional contracts.

Democracy Under the Check

Imagine a world where whenever the state fails, a billionaire steps in.

At first, it looks like relief.
Then the pattern grows.

One day the election matters less…the checkbook matters more.
One day the donor’s agenda indexes…the citizen’s voice no longer does.

Public defense becomes philanthropic defense.
Budget becomes private check.

And the people watching the ballot box…become the people watching the Billionaire.

When that day arrives…democracy didn’t vanish with a coup.
It shrank behind a ledger.

Back Soon,

-Jack

Link to CNBC article here

P.S.Keep your attention where the money meets the mission.
Because our rights aren’t just for sale…they’re the price of freedom.
When influence buys what laws should protect…we all lose.