On Oct. 15, the Trump administration directed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to repurpose Defense Department funding to pay members of the military during the government shutdown.
But as of Tuesday, some service members reported partial deposits in their accounts. It’s still unclear how many payments were issued. Service members still have no guarantee if they will continue receiving their monthly paychecks.
Many service members reflected on how they were paid in past shutdowns, echoing their uncertainty this time around.
“We got paid on the first hit. We’ll see what happens from here on out,” said Bashtye Bailey, a Navy wife and veteran herself. “But there’s already a strain there.”
Others mentioned the pressure they are already feeling.
“We get paid every two weeks,” said Kady Frazier, a Navy wife. “We don’t get paid after that. I am in a real stressful situation.”
But Bailey and Frazier are two of about 1.3 million active duty members of the military who could see a paycheck soon.
On Oct. 11, the Trump administration announced it would pay troops by repurposing $8 billion that Congress had allocated to the Department of Defense, including unused research and development funds.
Meanwhile, Congress remains in gridlock over the shutdown and has yet to pass a stand-alone bill that would ensure troops get money for their next paycheck on Nov. 1.
