Trump Orders Military Pay Amid U.S. Government Shutdown
President Directs Defense Secretary to Ensure Troops Receive Pay
U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure all military personnel are paid on schedule, despite the ongoing federal government shutdown.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he would not allow Democrats to “hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”
The president’s directive comes as thousands of federal employees face delayed paychecks and widespread layoffs. The next scheduled payday for U.S. military members is October 15, and without intervention, it would have been the first missed paycheck since the shutdown began on October 1.
Shutdown Stalemate Deepens Political Divide
The Republican and Democratic parties continue to blame each other for the ongoing budget impasse. Trump has urged Hegseth to “use all available funds to get our Troops PAID,” while Democrats insist that any spending resolution must protect key healthcare tax credits and Medicaid funding.
Democrats argue that Republican proposals threaten affordable healthcare access for millions of Americans, while Republicans accuse Democrats of deliberately extending the shutdown for political gain.
So far, around 750,000 federal employees—roughly 40% of the government workforce—have been furloughed without pay, while essential workers, including the military, are required to continue working without immediate compensation.
Although furloughed workers are typically guaranteed back pay once the government reopens, the Trump administration has hinted that this may not be the case this time.
Mass Layoffs Begin Across Federal Agencies
In an unprecedented move, the administration has begun laying off thousands of government workers during the shutdown, a strategy critics say weaponizes the crisis for political purposes.
“The RIFs have begun,” announced Russell Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management, on X (formerly Twitter), referring to “reductions in force.”
According to officials, seven federal agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—have already started firing more than 4,000 employees. Reports say the CDC’s Washington, D.C. office has been emptied, with layoffs impacting staff working on vital programs such as Ebola response, immunizations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
An HHS spokesperson defended the layoffs, stating that the dismissed workers were “non-essential” and that the department was “closing wasteful and duplicative entities” in line with the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Other departments affected include Treasury, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security—key agencies responsible for financial operations and national security.
Unions File Lawsuit Against Mass Dismissals
Two of the largest unions representing federal workers—the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and AFL-CIO—have filed a lawsuit in California, seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the layoffs.
“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley.
However, the Justice Department countered that unions failed to prove “irreparable harm,” arguing that stopping the layoffs would instead “irreparably harm the government.”
The filing also revealed that upcoming layoffs could target additional departments, including Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Trump Defiant as Shutdown Fallout Grows
Despite growing criticism, Trump remains firm in his stance, framing the shutdown as necessary to force Democrats into compromise.
“The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
With pressure mounting from both political sides, Trump’s move to protect military pay could help mitigate some backlash, even as the broader shutdown continues to strain federal operations and millions of Americans who depend on them.