President Trump Ensures Troops Will Be Paid Despite Ongoing Government Shutdown

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that America’s military service members will still receive their paychecks on October 15, despite the ongoing partial government shutdown that has disrupted other federal operations.

Typically, service members’ pay is delayed during funding lapses when Congress fails to approve a budget. However, Trump said he has instructed U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to secure the necessary funds to ensure all active-duty personnel are paid on time.

“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”

According to a Pentagon contingency plan issued before the shutdown, roughly 334,900 civilian employees within the Department of Defense were expected to be furloughed. These workers, along with hundreds of thousands of others across federal agencies, are currently sidelined without pay.

Each day the federal government remains closed is estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $400 million in salary losses for approximately 750,000 furloughed federal employees. While federal law typically guarantees back pay once operations resume, the delays often cause significant strain on workers and their families.

Both parties continue to blame each other for the budget standoff that triggered the shutdown, which has now entered its tenth day.

The last federal shutdown—during Trump’s first term—lasted 35 days, marking the longest in U.S. history.