WASHINGTON — Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Donald Trump, is the anonymous private donor who gave $130 million to the U.S. government to help pay troops during the shutdown, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Trump announced the donation Thursday night, but he declined to identify the person who provided the funds, only calling him a “patriot” and a friend. But the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the donation was private, identified him as Mellon.

Shortly after departing Washington on Friday, Trump again declined to identify Mellon while talking to reporters aboard Air Force One. He only said the individual was “a great American citizen” and a “substantial man.”

“He doesn’t want publicity,” Tru

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