President Trump said on Saturday that he has ordered military personnel to be paid despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote in part:
- "I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS. I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown."
The Hill elaborates, reporting a Defense official said that "approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year ... will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past Oct. 15." The New York Times notes "It was not clear how long the Trump administration could rely on such accounting moves to pay troops in the event that Congress cannot strike a spending deal."
The shutdown is the first since the 35-day closure that started in December 2018, during Trump's first term. The Guardian reports 1.3 million military personnel were set to miss their first full paychecks since the shutdown, with only money from the Sept. 21-30 period due to them. The AP reports it wasn't clear if the US Coast Guard would be included in Trump's move; it's a branch of the US Armed Forces but falls under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime.