In a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said the move was necessary to prevent service members from missing their regular pay due on October 15.
'I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown,' he wrote.
The instruction, which Trump said draws on his authority as Commander in Chief, comes amid growing concern that troops would miss their first paycheck since the shutdown began on October 1.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reportedly notified Congress of plans to reallocate research and development funds within the Department of Defence to cover the payments. According to sources cited by NBC News, there are sufficient funds available for at least two years.
The Defence Department has not yet publicly commented on the directive.
Partisan blame over the shutdown
The shutdown, now in its twelfth day, has deepened the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over a federal spending plan. Democrats have refused to back a Republican proposal unless it includes provisions to maintain key health insurance tax credits and reverse Trump's cuts to Medicaid, the healthcare program serving low-income and elderly Americans.
Republicans, in turn, accuse Democrats of prolonging the crisis and disrupting essential services. Trump reiterated this position on Saturday, writing: '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.'
Thousands of federal layoffs
While military personnel are considered 'essential' and must continue working even without pay, around 750,000 other federal employeesâ€"roughly 40% of the government workforceâ€"have been furloughed without pay.
In a highly unusual move during a shutdown, the Trump administration has begun permanently laying off thousands of workers across several agencies. White House Budget Director Russell Vought confirmed the move Friday, posting on X: 'The RIFs have begun,' referring to 'reductions in force.'
According to administration disclosures, more than 4,000 employees have already been terminated across seven federal agencies. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saw its entire Washington, D.C. office dismissed, including staff working on immunisations, Ebola response, and the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, said the cuts targeted 'nonessential' personnel and were part of efforts to eliminate 'wasteful and duplicative entities' under Trump's Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Employees at the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were also among those laid off.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the AFL-CIO have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Northern California seeking to block the layoffs, calling them unlawful.
'It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,' said AFGE President Everett Kelley.
In court filings opposing the unions' motion, the Justice Department revealed that additional cuts could affect staff at the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The filing argued that halting the layoffs would 'irreparably harm the government.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/trump-orders-pentagon-to-pay-troops-despite-gov-t-shutdown
