President Donald Trump said Oct. 11 that he has directed the Defense Department to use “every available means” to ensure U.S. troops are paid Oct. 15 despite the government shutdown.
President Trump said in a social media post that he was acting because “our brave troops will not receive the pay they are rightfully due on October 15th.”
The Republican president's action removes one pressure point that could force Congress to act, likely ensuring that the shutdown — now in its 11th day and counting — extends into a third week and possibly longer. But no such action appears to be in the cards for federal workers, thousands of whom are now furloughed due to the government shutdown. The White House Budget Office began this process on October 10.
Mr. Trump blamed Democrats and said he used his authority as commander in chief to direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “use all available funds to pay our troops on October 15th.” The Republican president added: “We have identified funds for this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to pay our troops.”
U.S. military members were at risk of not receiving their next paycheck on Oct. 15 following the government shutdown on Oct. 1, at the start of the federal budget cycle. The U.S. has about 1.3 million active-duty military personnel, and the prospect of troops being left without pay was front and center as lawmakers on Capitol Hill debated the fallout from the shutdown.
Mr. Trump has not said where he is getting the money, but it will likely be funded by the billions of dollars that were pumped into the Defense Department under Mr. Trump's big tax and spending cut bill, which he signed in the summer. The Congressional Budget Office has said such a move is possible.
“The Administration may also decide to use mandatory funding provided in the Reconciliation Act of 2025 or other mandatory funding sources to continue activities funded by these direct appropriations across agencies,” the CBO said.
CBO named the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget among the departments that received specific funds under the law.
Some of the Pentagon money “could be used to pay active-duty personnel during the shutdown, thereby reducing the number of excluded workers who would receive deferred compensation,” the CBO wrote in a letter responding to questions posed by Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa.
The White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for details of the president's statement.
