By Suzanne Downing 
Active-duty military personnel, National Guard, and Reserve members on duty, and some civilians working in the Defense Department are still working during the ongoing government partial shutdown that began Oct. 1.
President Donald Trump announced that he has directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to ensure that troops receive their paychecks on time, despite the lack of appropriations. The next scheduled payday set for Oct. 15.
The administration is drawing from multi-year Department of Defense research and development accounts, a move that can bypass the need for immediate congressional approval.
“I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military… HOSTAGE,” Trump wrote on social media, describing the step as a direct executive intervention to protect service members during the funding standoff. Hegseth echoed the message, posting, “President Trump delivers for the troops.”
Retired military pay and survivor benefits remain unaffected, as they are financed through separate, permanent annuity programs. Under federal law, uniformed personnel are guaranteed back pay once funding is restored, though Trump has threatened to withhold retroactive pay from certain civilian workers he has labeled “undeserving.”
A similar crisis was averted in 2013, when Congress passed the Pay Our Military Act to exempt uniformed pay from shutdowns. The current impasse has also stalled work on the 2026 defense authorization bill, which includes a proposed 3.8 percent pay raise for U.S. troops.
As the shutdown stretches into week two, Trump’s directive represents an out-of-the-ordinary use of Pentagon funds to cover payroll.