President Donald Trump said Saturday he was ordering Defense Department officials to pay service members next week, despite the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to have our troops PAYED on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump wrote in an article on Truth Social.
This comes as Trump administration officials and lawmakers on both sides have expressed concern that members of the military will not receive pay on Oct. 15 due to the shutdown, which has lasted 10 days so far.
Defense Department officials did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment Saturday.
The Office of Management and Budget has sent a notification to Congress regarding its plans to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge told NBC News.
An OMB spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that two years’ worth of funds are available within the Department of Defense.
In the Truth Social post, Trump blamed Democrats for the ongoing shutdown, writing, “If nothing is done, because of ‘leader’ Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our brave troops will not receive the paychecks they are rightfully owed on October 15th.” »
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In several votes over the past week, Senate lawmakers failed to reach the 60-vote threshold on a temporary funding measure that would reopen the government.
In September, the House – with all Republicans voting for and all but one Democrat voting against – passed a temporary funding bill that would keep the government open and operating at previous funding levels until November 21.
Too few Senate Democrats joined Republicans in voting for this bill. Instead, Senate Democratic leaders proposed a temporary funding measure that would keep the government open until the end of October and restore cuts to Medicaid that the Republican Party passed as part of a historic domestic policy package earlier this year.
The Democratic-backed plan would also extend federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act beneficiaries, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Republicans did not join Democrats in passing the measure.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Friday that he expected the White House to find a way to pay the troops in time for the Oct. 15 paycheck.
“I think, to their credit, the White House was furloughed for 10 days in the hope that enough Senate Democrats would come to their senses and do the right thing and fund the government. But now that we’re getting cases where people are going to start missing their paychecks, it’s becoming real,” he said.
“It’s becoming real for families, a lot of military families who live paycheck to paycheck, a lot of American families who live paycheck to paycheck, who are federal employees. And so I just think the White House, I hope, yes, they’re going to start making decisions about how to move the money around,” the majority leader added.
Later Friday, the Trump administration began laying off thousands of federal workers across several federal agencies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was confronted on the phone by a military spouse on Thursday while answering calls from viewers on C-SPAN. She alleged that her family would not be able to pay for their children’s medication without a paycheck on October 15.
“If we see a wage disruption on the 15th, my kids won’t get the medications they need to live their lives because we’re living paycheck to paycheck,” the caller told Johnson.
Johnson told the caller he was “angry about situations like yours.” He added that “it’s the Democrats who are stopping you from getting a check.”
Democrats in the House and Senate, meanwhile, last week pushed for a vote on a standalone bill that would ensure troops are paid during the federal government shutdown.
Johnson told House lawmakers on Friday that no votes were expected next week, extending the period that House lawmakers were away from Washington.
“Republicans have completely abdicated their responsibility for governance by canceling votes in the House for a third straight week. Instead of voting on legislation to reopen the government, pay our troops, and solve the Republican health care crisis, they are sitting on vacation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter to his colleagues on Saturday.
