Trump announced his decision in a post on the Truth Social platform, criticizing the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, for a statement suggesting that the prolonged crisis is beneficial to his party.
“If nothing is done, because of 'Leader' Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Soldiers will not receive the paychecks they are owed on October 15. Therefore, as Commander in Chief, I am using my authority to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to PAY our Soldiers on October 15,” the president wrote.
“We have identified funds for this purpose, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR SOLDIERS. I will not allow Democrats to take our Military and the entire security of our Nation hostage through their dangerous shutdown,” he added.
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Shutdown in the USA
The paralysis of the functioning of a large part of the state apparatus is the result of the failure to adopt the provisional budget after the expiry of the budget for the last fiscal year, which ended at the beginning of October. As a result, over 750 thousand federal workers have been furloughed, and more than 2 million workers will not receive their on-time paychecks, which are usually due on the 10th of the month for civilian workers and the 15th for soldiers.
Democrats are blocking the adoption of the provisional bill passed in the House of Representatives because they demand the restoration of health insurance subsidies, without which the costs of insurance are expected to increase dramatically. Trump signaled on Saturday that he is ready to talk about health care, but only after the shutdown ends.
Due to the uncertainty, soldiers and their families have started flocking to food banks to get free groceries, according to media reports — publicized by the White House.
The shutdown will almost certainly last until at least October 15, because after another unsuccessful vote on the provisional bill on Thursday, the Senate interrupted the session and will meet only on Tuesday. Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly rejected the idea of passing a separate bill guaranteeing funds for timely payments to members of the armed forces.
To further increase the pressure on Democrats, the White House on Friday announced mass layoffs of officials. According to the AP agency, the layoffs will concern 4,000. employees, and may affect the Ministry of Finance most severely, which may lose 1.4 thousand. employees, health (1.1 thousand employees) and urbanization
