Unless the White House can finagle money around during the government shutdown, Donald Trump would go down in the history books as the first president to deny pay to active-duty military troops.
According to a report from Politico, the White House is searching for ways to shift money around legally before payday hits next Wednesday, the 15th of the month.
With many lawmakers out of town, and no vote possible on the government shutdown until Congress is back in session now that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has cancelled a return next Tuesday, it will fall on Trump and his people to make good on military pay.
According to the Politico report, Republicans are willing to let active-duty troops feel the pain, hoping they will blame Democrats.
"Senior Hill Republicans are arguing they need to let troop pay lapse in order to demonstrate the real consequences of Senate Democrats blocking the short-term spending bill the House passed last month, according to four people granted anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes strategic conversations,” Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney wrote.
The report adds, “Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week that Monday is the real cutoff point for a decision given the Pentagon’s payroll process. Now with both chambers out of town until after that deadline, it’s up to Trump.”
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