Last Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that he had “identified funds” that will ensure the active military is paid, even as Congress remains no closer to reopening the federal government. Trump ordered Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “Use all available funds to get Troops PAID on October 15.”
That ensured that this Wednesday, United States military personnel would be paid, with the Pentagon tapping into its research and development (R&D) accounts, which Congress had made available for two years by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Approximately $8 billion will be shifted from the unobligated research, testing, and evaluation funds (RDTE) to ensure the troops are paid on Wednesday, Politico.com first reported.
However, several questions remained.
It is unclear what the Department of Defense (DoD) will do if the government shutdown continues for another two weeks. The federal government spent $192 billion on soldier compensation in 2024, according to NPR, citing a White House budget summary. That breaks down to around $7.4 billion for each two-week pay period. The $8 billion will be nearly depleted just paying the troops this week.
The Coast Guard Will be Paid
The other pressing question is what it means for United States Coast Guard personnel, who are overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during peacetime, despite being a branch of the United States military. The Pentagon doesn’t issue the checks to those service members.
However, as with the other branches, the Coast Guard remains “fully operational” and will continue its missions to control, secure, and defend the U.S. border and maritime approaches, facilitate commerce vital to economic prosperity, and respond to crises and contingencies.
The USCG and DHS confirmed on Monday that “pay will be processed and deposited” into service member accounts for their mid-month paycheck for October 15, with money showing up in the accounts between the 15th and 17th as normal.
“President Trump did not want any of our military to go without pay as a result of Democrats’ political theater, and we at DHS worked out an innovative solution to make sure that didn’t happen,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on the social platform X.
The money to pay the Coast Guard personnel will come from funding provided via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law in early July. However, neither DHS nor the White House confirmed further details.
“Our people are the heart of the Coast Guard,” said Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the United States Coast Guard. “We are grateful for the actions taken by President Trump and Secretary Noem to ensure that our members — who protect and defend our nation’s maritime borders and our citizens every day — receive the pay they have earned.”
What Happens Next?
The government shutdown began on October 1, after Senate lawmakers were able to reach a compromise in the appropriations bill to fund the government. It is the first shutdown since December 2018, which lasted 34 days into early 2019.
During that government shutdown, most active-duty service members continued to be paid on time because Congress had already passed the annual DoD appropriations bill. However, members of the United States Coast Guard missed a paycheck since the funding came from DHS, one of the agencies whose funding lapsed.
The final question is what happens if the shutdown continues, as funding may not be available to pay members of any of the six branches of the United States military.
Last week, Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives asked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to reconvene the chamber so that a bill could be passed to ensure that service members continue to be paid. Johnson has so far said he would not do so and has called on his Democratic colleagues in the Senate to support the legislation that would reopen the government and address remaining disputes afterward.
