Trump ordered that soldiers be paid on time despite the shutdown

US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered all available funds to be used to pay the salaries of American soldiers on time, despite the budget paralysis that has been ongoing for 11 days. The shutdown will last at least until October 15, the day when salaries are usually paid.

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.

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 employees were sent on forced leave, and more than 2 million employees will not receive their salaries on time, which is usually due on the 10th of the month for civilian employees and on 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.

According to media reports – publicized by the White House – due to the uncertainty, soldiers and their families began to flock to food banks to receive free groceries.

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 (400).

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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