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Donald Trump said his administration has “identified funds” to pay US troops while the federal government is shut down, heading off a potential flashpoint in the stand-off between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Trump’s move could ease some pressure from congressional Republicans, who had been facing calls to find a way to pay US military personnel on October 15, which would mark their first missed pay cheque of the shutdown.
“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”, Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS”.
A defence department official said that about $8bn of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds from the previous fiscal year would be used to pay the cheques.
Military personnel are required to work during a shutdown despite receiving no pay.
The Pentagon received approximately $156bn in new funding from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act over the summer.
The government entered the 11th day of its shutdown on Saturday, as Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked over a stop-gap bill to keep the government funded through late November. While Republicans control Congress, they need at least seven Democrats to help them pass their so-called continuing resolution and reopen the funding spigot.
Democrats have refused to support the measure unless Republicans negotiate an extension of health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year, threatening to raise the cost of medical coverage for millions of Americans.
Both parties have blamed the other for the shutdown.
On Friday the administration escalated the political fight — along with the economic risks — by following through on a threat to begin firing federal workers permanently.
The White House had been banking on Democrats conceding, but most opposition lawmakers have presented a united front in refusing to give up their demand. Republicans were particularly at risk of having to moderate their stance over the troop pay issue.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who has refused to call his chamber back into session during the shutdown, was met with an emotional plea from a Republican military wife on Thursday to pass legislation to ensure troops get their pay cheques next week.
Samantha of Fort Belvoir, Virginia called in to public broadcaster C-SPAN to tell Johnson live on air that her two “medically fragile” children “could die” if her husband is not paid on October 15.
“We live pay cheque to pay cheque”, she said, and her family’s next pay cheque is essential for her to get her children their medication.
“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you”, she told Johnson. “You could stop this, and you could be the one that could say military is getting paid.”
Johnson blamed Democrats in his reply: “Republicans are the ones delivering for you. We had a vote to pay the troops. It was the continuing resolution three weeks ago . . . The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a cheque”.
Trump on Saturday said: “I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE”.
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