WASHINGTON – A warning from the Pentagon that a government shutdown would cost troops their paychecks over the holidays includes thousands of service members in Northeast Florida.
The shutdown would primarily impact active duty service members because they are not typically paid during a government shutdown.
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But they must still report for duty both overseas and at home, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday.
Without an agreement reached before the Friday deadline 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.
The military payroll is just one of thousands of federal accounts that would be affected, but one of the most visible.
It would affect 1.3 million active members and over 800,000 National Guard and Reserve service members, according to performance.gov.
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.
USAA, a financial service company that provides banking for military members, veterans and their families, said it is prepared to step in if the shutdown goes through.
It is offering no-interest loans equal to your pay, which could range from $500 to $6,000.
Critical medical and dental care are not included in shutdowns, and veterans will not have their pay cut. Most Veterans Affairs offices are funded a year in advance but hours and appointment availability could be affected.
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.
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.
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Mike Pesoli contributed.