By Patricia Zengerle and Bo Erickson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order on Wednesday directing the Pentagon to ensure active-duty military personnel are paid despite the federal government shutdown, the White House said, addressing one of the most sensitive issues in the bitter standoff over federal spending.
Trump directed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to use “any funds appropriated by Congress that remain available for fiscal year 2026 expenditures for pay and allowances to accomplish the planned disbursement of military wages and allowances for active duty military personnel,” according to the text of the executive order shared by the White House on social media.
As the standoff between Trump's Republicans and Democrats in Congress continued for a third week, 1.3 million active-duty military personnel were at risk of missing their mid-month paychecks. Military personnel remain in office despite the closure that began on October 1. Their work is considered essential to national security.
TROOPS WERE PAID AT PREVIOUS CLOSURES
Members of Congress take pride in supporting military personnel who risk their lives for national security. During previous shutdowns, they passed bills to ensure troops were paid.
Trump had promised that service members would get their paychecks, and his administration said Saturday that it would use unused Defense Department research and development funds to cover the checks.
However, it was not clear where the money would come from to cover the army's next paychecks at the end of October.
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of holding troops “hostage” by refusing to agree to a Republican spending plan to reopen the government.
“The most pro-shutdown Democrats actually represent the most active duty service members at home, who they have held hostage in this treacherous political game,” Johnson told a news conference Wednesday, referring to lawmakers from states that are home to large numbers of troops.
Democrats accused Republicans of refusing to even talk about a compromise.
Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, but would need Democratic votes in the Senate to pass the measure. Democrats say any funding package to reopen the government must also extend health care subsidies for about 24 million Americans, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
When government offices were closed in 2013, members of the military were paid because Congress passed a separate Pay Our Military Act. This year, Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans introduced a similar bill, the Pay Our Troops Act, but it did not pass until Johnson sent the House home last month.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Bo Erickson; additional reporting by Costas Pitas and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Rod Nickel)
