Pentagon Warns That a Government Shutdown Will Cost Troops Their Pay Over the Holidays

By Associated Press

Published 5 months ago on

December 19, 2024

Pentagon warns of troop pay loss amid potential government shutdown as Republicans abandon spending plan. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Troops required to work without pay if shutdown occurs, affecting end-of-month paychecks and reservist drills.
House Republicans scramble for alternative after Trump and Musk criticize spending bill on social media.
Previous shutdowns have seen efforts to secure troop pay, but not all military branches were covered equally.

WASHINGTON — Republicans’ decision to abandon a congressional spending plan will cost troops their paychecks over the holidays unless some agreement is reached before Friday’s deadline to prevent a government shutdown, the Pentagon warned.

Even if they don’t get paid, those troops will be required to report for duty both overseas and at home, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.

Without an agreement to fund the government, troops will not receive their end-of-month paychecks, reservists drilling after Friday will not be paid, and federal civilians who are required to work during a shutdown also will not be paid, he said.

Military Payroll Among Thousands of Affected Federal Accounts

The military payroll is just one of thousands of federal accounts that would be affected, but one of the most visible.

Congress was on the verge of passing a stopgap measure on Wednesday to keep the government running when President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk used Musk’s social media platform X to attack the 1,500-page bill over its unrelated spending add-ons and threaten any Republican lawmaker who supported its passage. Support for the bill quickly failed.

House Republicans were scrambling late Thursday to get an agreement on an alternative.

“I think a shutdown deprives the military of a paycheck,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee told reporters as he walked into House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office late Thursday. “So the last thing we want to do is shut down the government.”

House Democrats, however, had already begun to say the new slimmed-down spending plan was untenable.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump was aware that his stand on the bill could result in the military not being paid.

Impact on Military and Civilian Personnel

Other civilian personnel deemed not essential to immediate military operations will be furloughed, Ryder said.

In previous shutdowns Congress has worked to secure troop pay, but not everyone was covered. In 2019, members of the Coast Guard were left out and went more than a month without pay.

“A lapse in funding will cause serious disruptions across the Defense Department and is still avoidable,” Ryder said.