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President Donald Trump said Saturday that active-duty service members would get paid today, despite the government shutdown that is now in its third week.
“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 15,” he wrote on his social media platform.
Active-duty troops, including National Guardsmen in the Active Guard Reserve and those on federal orders (Title 10 and 32), had been working without pay during the lapse in appropriations.
Essential civilian employees and the Guard’s more than 33,000 dual-status technicians, many of whom work alongside AGRs, continue to work without pay.
In addition, many drill-status Guardsmen don’t know when they will drill next as most weekend training assemblies have been cancelled during the shutdown. That results in a loss of valuable training time and an important paycheck.
To pay some of the troops, the Pentagon tapped into research and development accounts to use money Congress made available for two years, according to published reporting citing a White House Office of Management and Budget official.
Officials shifted approximately $8 billion from accounts that fund military research, development testing and evaluation programs.
It is not known how many pay periods the money could cover.
Funds began arriving in the bank accounts of AGR personnel on Tuesday, according to public affairs officers in two states.
“It’s great that President Trump stepped in to ensure active-duty troops got their October 15 paychecks,” said retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president. “It certainly lessened the anxiety in many military families.
“But this action isn’t a long-term solution, and it didn’t take care of all our troops,” McGinn added. “Left out are National Guard dual-status technicians, who serve full-time in uniform and are vital to our readiness.”
Trump acted after legislation in Congress to pay service members failed to get traction with Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
GOP leaders thought passing a stopgap budget, known as a continuing resolution, to reopen the government was a better way to keep troop pay flowing.
Nevertheless, 118 of the 183 co-sponsors of the Pay Our Troops Act (H.R. 5401) introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., were Republicans.
So were all 19 of co-sponsors of the Pay Our Military Act (S. 3002) introduced just last week by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
NGAUS was a driving force behind the bills, which would also pay Department of War civilians and technicians.
The association will continue to push H.R. 5401 and S. 3002.
Congress passed legislation to ensure that troops kept earning their salaries during previous lapses in appropriations.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Democrats rejected a short-term funding fix and demanded that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
The expiration of those subsidies at the end of the year will result in monthly cost increases for millions of people.
Trump and Republican leaders have said they are open to negotiations on the health subsidies but insist the government must reopen first. Democrats want the extension of the subsidies written into any CR. Both sides appear dug in.
The House narrowly passed a CR to reopen the government; Senate Republicans need a few Democrat Senators to join them to reach the require 60 votes in their chamber.
