Trump orders defense funds to pay troops on Oct 15

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he has directed the Defense Department to use all available funds to ensure active duty service members are paid on October 15 despite an ongoing federal government shutdown that began October 1. In a social media post, Trump said he was acting as commander in chief and ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th.” He did not identify which accounts would be tapped or the total amount of money involved.

The announcement comes as the shutdown entered its 11th day amid a partisan impasse in Congress over stopgap funding and expiring health insurance subsidies. Senate Republicans control the chamber but must reach 60 votes to pass a spending bill, a threshold that requires some Democratic support. Democrats have withheld backing for a short-term funding measure unless it addresses subsidies that help make insurance affordable for roughly 24 million people, officials said.

Administration officials had not provided immediate details on the funding sources for the troop payments. The Congressional Budget Office has said the administration could lawfully redirect mandatory...