Johnson tells Democrats to ‘bring it’ over pay for U.S. troops
President Donald Trump’s weekend move to pay U.S. troops during a partial government shutdown raised legal questions, but it also relieved pressure on Republicans as a congressional funding lapse stretched into a 14th day.
Trump on Saturday said he identified funds to pay service members on Oct. 15, a paycheck that 1.3 million military members were set to miss because Congress failed to pass a spending plan on time.
A Department of War official on Saturday said the agency identified about “$8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the move was “probably not” legal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told Democrats to go ahead with a challenge to the military paychecks.
“If the Democrats want to go to court and challenge troops being paid, bring it,” Johnson said Tuesday during a news conference at the Capitol.
Trump on Tuesday said a wealthy donor offered to pay the troops during the shutdown.
Late Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. Coast Guard would also get paid.
“President Trump did not want any of our military to go without pay as a result of Democrats’ political theater, and we at DHS worked out an innovative solution to make sure that didn’t happen,” Noem wrote in a post on X. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and the One Big Beautiful Bill, the brave men and women of the US Coast Guard will not miss a paycheck this week as they continue to carry out their critical homeland security and military missions.”
Typically, military members don’t get paid when Congress fails to approve funding. However, Trump said he directed U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to find the cash to make sure U.S. troops get their next paycheck on Oct. 15. Many were preparing to go without, as they had in previous shutdowns.
Mostly Clear
Latest News Stories
WATCH: Governor candidate: Low-cost districts shine while most IL schools spend, fail
Fed cuts rates after holding off for months amid tariff turmoil
WATCH: Pritzker threatens executive action regulating hemp if legislature won’t act
Exclusive: Laws exacerbate firearm instructors shortage
House committee to examine possible link between ‘radicalization,’ social media apps
WATCH: Illinois congresswoman OK withholding federal tax funds to change state policy
Chicago mayor: ‘We do not have a spending problem’ as spending, deficit grows
WATCH: Trump calls Pritzker ’nothing’ in public safety push; U.S. Rep. Mary Miller live
Illinois quick hits: Three dead outside Berwyn school; steady economic conditions reported
Casey Hires Hometown Engineer Ryan Staley as New Director of Public Works
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Casey Township Library Board of Trustees for August 7, 2025
WATCH: Illinois prison mail scanning rule faces lawmaker scrutiny
