The Trump administration says military members will receive their paychecks on Friday despite the government shutdown
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to pay military personnel on Friday using a mix of legislative and Defense Department funds, according to an official in the White House Office of Management and Budget.
It would be the second time the White House has been able to avoid missing a pay period for troops during the government shutdown, now in its 30th day. Service members are considered essential federal employees and are required to work during funding shutdowns, but essential workers are typically not paid during shutdowns.
About $2.5 billion from the Military Housing Fund, part of President Donald Trump’s Big Nice Bill passed this year, will be tapped for Friday’s payroll, according to an Office of Management and Budget official. In addition, $1.4 billion from the Pentagon’s research and development account and $1.4 billion from the procurement account will be used, the official said.
That brings the total to about $5.3 billion, which is still less than the $6.5 billion withdrawn to pay troops earlier this month. It is unclear why there was a discrepancy in the amounts, and an OMB official did not respond to a request for comment on this particular point.
The cost of base pay and military bonuses is about $6.5 billion per pay period, Todd Harrison, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, previously told NBC News.
Axios Reported for the first time Regarding the administration’s salary plan for Friday.
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“President Trump continues to deliver on his promise to take care of the troops despite the fact that Democrats have shut down the government and agree that our bravest men and women will receive no pay,” a Pentagon official told NBC News.
The Department of Defense recently accepted an anonymous $130 million donation to pay troops during the shutdown, leading some Democrats to raise concerns about the legality and ethics surrounding the move.
Earlier this week, on Capitol Hill, Vice President J.D. Vance said: “We think we can continue to pay the troops on Friday. But unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to pay everyone, because we’ve been treated so poorly by the Democrats.”
“We think we can keep paying the troops, at least for now, but we have food stamp benefits that are set to expire in a week. We’re trying to keep them open as much as possible. We just need the Democrats to actually help us,” he added.
Congressional Democrats insisted that Republicans agree to extend support for the Affordable Care Act to prevent insurance premiums from doubling or even tripling for many Americans next year before voting to reopen the government. Republicans argued that negotiations on the issue should take place after funding for the entire federal government is restored.
The Senate failed last week to advance a Republican measure that would pay the salaries of active duty service members and other federal workers deemed essential during the shutdown. Senate Democrats offered an alternative measure that would pay salaries to all federal employees, but it also fell short of the votes needed to advance.
Most federal workers were furloughed during the shutdown, while others were asked to work without pay until the government reopens. Both groups are expected to receive their full wages when the closure that began on October 1 ends.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, who blames Democrats for pay gaps, has repeatedly rejected efforts to bring the House back into session to vote on a measure that could fund important parts of the government, saying Thursday that “the bills you keep hearing are way off target” to fully reopen the government.
Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have shown a similar reluctance to pass individual bills that would fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, which provides food assistance to over 40 million people across the country.
While Democrats urged the Trump administration to release $5 billion in emergency funding to prevent SNAP benefits from running out on Saturday, Johnson said this week that there was “no such legal avenue” for the president to roll back emergency funding for SNAP because the program’s legal language did not allow it.
Zoe Richards Contribute.