Trump says military members will be paid despite government shutdown | US federal government shutdown 2025

Donald Trump claimed Saturday that he had found a way to pay U.S. military troops despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, saying he had instructed his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to release the funds.

Trump posts on the Truth Social platform wrote: “As commander in chief, I am exercising my authority to direct our secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to pay our troops on October 15.”

Trump stated that he had identified the funds needed to make the payments and added: “I will not allow Democrats to hold our military and the entire security of our nation HOSTAGE with dangerous government shutdowns. Radical left Democrats MUST OPEN THE GOVERNMENT.”

The latest federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 and was the first since a 35-day shutdown in December 2018 that was extended into the new year during Trump’s first term as president. The shutdown comes as Democrats seek to regain their footing among voters who re-elected Trump last year, leaving them in the minority in both houses of Congress.

more than 1.3 million military Staff across the country would not receive their first post-shutdown salaries this month, but would only be paid for the period 21-30 September. One estimated Another 750,000 federal employees were furloughed.

as a hill reportedBut federal employees are generally paid once the shutdown ends, whether they are furloughed or working. After the last shutdown in 2018, Congress legislated that federal workers must be paid when the government reopens.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate remained deadlocked on legislation to end the shutdown, even as Trump repeated his threat to make Democrats foot the bill for funding cuts that have shuttered federal agencies and furloughed workers across the country.

Speaking to Punchbowl News, the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, expressed confidence in the strategy, saying: “It gets better for us every day.”

The White House announced the layoffs of federal employees on Friday, following threats of mass layoffs of government employees.

A. document filed in federal court As of Friday evening, it was revealed that hundreds of layoffs had taken place across the executive branch, including approximately 315 at the Department of Commerce, 466 at the Department of Education, and 187 at the Department of Energy.

Union leaders warned the layoffs would have “devastating impacts” on services that millions of Americans rely on and vowed to challenge the moves in court.

“It is shameful that the Trump administration is using the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally lay off thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 800,000 federal and D.C. government employees.

The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. federation of labor unions, responded after Russell Vought, director of the White House office of management and budget, wrote on social media that “RIFs have begun,” referring to the government’s current abatement procedure for firing employees. repliedHe said: “America’s unions will fight you in court.”

In another post reporting that Trump plans to pay the military by October 15, Hegseth wrote: replied: “President Trump hands over to soldiers.”