(NEXSTAR) – As the government shutdown enters its third week, President Trump wants one pain point to be avoided through a plan to pay the troops, but Congress is still no closer to a deal that would fund federal agencies.
More than a million active-duty service members might expect to be paid Wednesday despite the government shutdown. That’s after President Trump directed Secretary Pete Hegseth “to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID,” in a post on Truth Social.
“Truly, truly grateful for a hands on commander-in-chief,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.
Some legislators, meanwhile, doubt that Trump’s directive to reallocate funds for paychecks is legal, or if it could even come to fruition in time for Oct. 15.
“I think to pay the military during a shutdown would require legislation; the Speaker of the House has taken that off the table,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said Sunday during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “So, I mean, is Donald Trump going to say a bunch of stuff? Yes, he’s going to say a bunch of stuff. But I don’t see anything moving.”
Speaker Johnson previously ruled out a stand-alone bill to pay the troops, instead calling on Democrats to pass Republicans’ government funding bill. The administration says the money would come from the Pentagon’s unobligated research and development funds.
“I support the president’s move to pay the military,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.
Sen. Blumenthal, though, says government needs to reopen.
“This shutdown can end literally tomorrow if Republicans come to the table and commit to extending the health care tax credit,” Blumenthal said.
Democrats are demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Since open enrollment starts Nov. 1, Democrats argue the extension needs to happen now. But Republicans say those negotiations can happen after the government reopens.
“As I’ve said time and time again, I don’t have anything to negotiate with,” Johnson said.
Johnson called the Democrats’ proposal, which includes more than $1 trillion in new spending, unserious. He blamed Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer for the shutdown.
“He’s gambling with people’s lives and livelihoods to appease the far-left Marxist base of his party so that he can keep his job,” Johnson said.
The House is on recess all week. The Senate returns Tuesday for its eighth vote on government funding.