President Donald Trump has ordered the Defense Department to use “all available funds” to ensure that U.S. troops receive their paychecks on Wednesday despite the ongoing government shutdown. The directive, announced Saturday, provides a temporary reprieve for military personnel but leaves hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay as the shutdown stretches into its third week.
Trump said in a social media post that the directive was necessary because “our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.” He tagged the decision as an act of leadership amid what he called Democratic obstruction, declaring that he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID.”
The shutdown, now in its eleventh day, began on October 1 after Democrats rejected a stopgap funding measure that did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. As the standoff continues, the White House budget office began issuing federal layoffs on Friday, with no sign of a breakthrough in Congress.
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A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said that Pentagon research and development funds would be repurposed to cover military pay, according to AP’s report. The Pentagon later confirmed that roughly $8 billion in unused research, testing, and evaluation funds from the previous fiscal year had been identified to issue mid-month paychecks “in the event the funding lapse continues past October 15th.”
While the directive shields about 1.3 million active-duty service members from missing pay, it does not extend to federal workers who have either been furloughed or are still reporting to duty without compensation. Previous shutdowns saw Congress act to protect military pay, but similar efforts have yet to materialize this time.
It remains unclear whether the Coast Guard, technically part of the Armed Forces but overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, will be included in Trump’s order.
The administration’s decision removes one of the biggest pressure points that could have driven lawmakers toward compromise, potentially prolonging the shutdown. Military families, many of whom rely on consistent pay, remain anxious despite Trump’s assurances that “our military is always going to be taken care of.”
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The president has previously signed legislation guaranteeing back pay for federal workers once a shutdown ends but recently hinted he might oppose restoring lost salaries this time. Both parties remain entrenched, and with no clear path forward, the shutdown continues to ripple through the economy and the federal workforce.
