By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has directed the Defense Department to use “all available funds” to ensure U.S. troops are paid Wednesday despite the government shutdown, a short-term fix that will not apply to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed.
Trump said in a social media post that he was acting because “our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.”
The Republican president’s directive removes one of the pressure points that could have forced Congress into action, likely ensuring that the shutdown — now in its 11th day and counting — extends into a third week and possibly beyond. But no similar action seems forthcoming for federal employees also working without pay while thousands are now being laid off during the lapse in government operations. The White House budget office started the layoffs on Friday.
Trump blamed Democrats and said he was exercising his authority as commander in chief to direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th.” The Republican president added, “We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.”
U.S service members were in danger of not receiving their next paycheck on Wednesday after the government shut down on Oct. 1, the start of the federal budget cycle. The U.S. has about 1.3 million active-duty service members, and the prospect of troops going without pay has been a focal point when lawmakers on Capitol Hill have discussed the shutdown’s negative impact.
Trump did not say where he’s getting the money, but a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget said Pentagon research and development funds would be tapped.
The Pentagon said it identified about $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds from the last fiscal year that will be used to issue the mid-month paychecks, “in the event the funding lapse continues past October 15th.”
Federal workers typically receive back pay after a shutdown ends, as now required by a law that Trump signed during his first term. He recently floated the idea of not making up the lost salaries.
It was unclear if the president’s directive applies to the U.S. Coast Guard, which is a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces but is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime.
The nation’s third shutdown in 12 years has again raised anxiety levels among service members and their families as those in uniform are working without pay. While they would receive back pay once the impasse ends, many military families live paycheck to paycheck.
During previous shutdowns, Congress passed legislation to ensure that troops kept earning their salaries, but discussion of taking a similar step by lawmakers appeared to have fizzled out.
Asked earlier this week if he would support a bill to pay the troops, Trump said, “that probably will happen.”
“We’ll take care of it,” he said Wednesday. “Our military is always going to be taken care of.”
The shutdown began on 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.
Both sides appear dug in on their positions, making it unclear when, or how, the shutdown ends.
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Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.