President Donald Trump’s administration is considering options to pay members of the military if the government shutdown drags on, according to two White House officials granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Those options include Trump shifting available funds or pressing Republican leaders on Capitol Hill to put a standalone troop pay bill on the floor, according to one of the officials. The White House is not seeking a vote on troop pay at the moment and is reviewing internal options to address the pay issue, the other official said.
Active-duty military members are set to miss their paychecks Oct. 15 if Congress does not act.
“The president has been clear that he is going to pay the troops,” one of the officials said.
Asked Wednesday if he would encourage Congress to pass a standalone bill to pay troops amid the shutdown, he replied: “Probably.” He added, “Our military will always be taken care of.”
But Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have so far refused to consider a separate bill, arguing Democrats need to stop blocking the stopgap funding measure passed by the House last month.
House action on a standalone bill would require Johnson to seek to pass the measure via unanimous consent or call the House back into session. Asked if he would do either late Wednesday, Johnson said it was up to Democrats to approve the clean stopgap measure.
“I’m so sick of them playing politics,” Johnson said.
Johnson will hold a call with House Republicans Thursday morning to discuss the current state of play around the shutdown. Republicans involved say it’s likely the troop pay issue will come up, with Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) publicly pushing Johnson Wednesday to put her legislation on the floor “immediately.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday said he would support a standalone troop pay bill. The House Democratic leadership circle believes such a measure would pass with large Democratic support, according to two other people granted anonymity to describe the conversations.
