Vice President J.D. Vance confirmed that U.S. troops will receive their paychecks on Friday despite the government shutdown, which has persisted for nearly a month. “We do think that we can continue paying the troops, at least for now,” Vance stated to reporters, citing The Center Square. He added, “We’ve got food stamp benefits that are set to run out in a week. We’re trying to keep as much open as possible. We just need the Democrats to actually help us out.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration allocated $8 billion from unobligated research and development funds to cover military payroll on October 15. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated Sunday that the Department of War has sufficient unobligated funding to pay service members through October but warned, “I think we’ll be able to pay them beginning in November, but by Nov. 15 our troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives aren’t going to be able to get paid.”
Approximately 334,900 civilian employees at the Department of War were scheduled for furloughs during the shutdown, according to a Pentagon contingency plan. Vance reiterated, “We believe that we can continue to pay the troops on Friday. Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to pay everybody, because we’ve been handed a very bad hand by the Democrats.” He linked the financial strain to federal workforce layoffs, stating, “This is one of the reasons why you’ve seen some layoffs in the federal workforce.”
Republicans have pursued a strategy of persuading a small number of Senate Democrats to support stopgap funding to reopen the government. However, this approach has failed, as a recent Senate vote on reopening legislation collapsed for the 13th time. Democratic lawmakers face mounting pressure to resolve the impasse. The American Federation of Government Employees, the nation’s largest federal employee union, urged Congress to pass a funding bill immediately, demanding full pay for workers. Union President Everett Kelley declared, “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”
Despite calls for compromise, Democratic senators, including Virginia’s Tim Kaine, remain resistant. Kaine insisted on guarantees from the White House to prevent further layoffs and demanded Congress extend subsidies for health plans under the Affordable Care Act. “We’ve got to get a deal with Donald Trump,” he said.