Active-duty service members are on the verge of missing their next paycheck after Senate Democrats voted to keep the government shuttered indefinitely, blocking a measure that would have reopened federal operations and paid the troops.
U.S. service members have continued to report for duty since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, but without a funding resolution, roughly 1.3 million active-duty personnel are now expected to miss their first paycheck ever as the Democrat-induced impasse, dubbed the “Schumer Shutdown” by Republicans, drags into next week, The Western Journal reported.
Top Democrats have insisted the responsibility lies with Republicans to prevent a pay lapse. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and most of his caucus have repeatedly rejected a clean funding bill that would reopen the government and ensure military pay continues.
Republican leaders accused Democrats of deliberately prolonging the shutdown despite growing fallout for military families. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees already received only partial pay on Friday as the shutdown entered its second week.
“We’re not in a good mood here in the Capitol. It’s a somber day,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Friday press conference. “Today marks the first day federal workers across America will receive a partial paycheck thanks to Democrats’ obstruction to the system here. This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until Washington Democrats decide to do their job and reopen the government.”
“Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live paycheck-to-paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck,” Johnson said. “If Democrats don’t end this shutdown by Monday, that October 15th pay date will pass us by.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the situation “beyond the pale,” condemning Democrats for allowing the shutdown to reach the point where military pay is in jeopardy.
It would mark the first time in American history that active-duty troops have missed a paycheck.
Johnson said President Donald Trump is reviewing options to ensure troops are paid, even if the shutdown continues. A senior White House official told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the administration is exploring every legal avenue available to compensate service members during what it described as the “Democrat Shutdown.”
Military charities have reported a surge in requests for emergency financial aid from families bracing for the missed payday.
Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of the military advocacy group Blue Star Families, told CNN that fewer than one in three military families have at least $3,000 in savings.
The Army’s official charity, Army Emergency Relief, has already approved more than $7 million in payments for soldiers preparing to miss pay on Oct. 15. The Air Force’s charity reported being flooded with requests for help and said it has “several million in potential funds” available for airmen and Space Force members.
Sean Ryan, a spokesperson for Army Emergency Relief, said the organization has processed thousands of new applications since Oct. 8.
“Currently, we are receiving applications on the portal for approval and putting them in the queue so they are ready for payment by [October] 15th,” Ryan said. “We are prepared for $50 million but will make adjustments as needed if more.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back, claiming Republicans “aren’t serious” about reopening the government or paying the troops.
“They’re not serious about paying our active-duty troops,” Jeffries said. “[Democrats are] ready, willing, and able to sit down with our Republican colleagues, extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit, address the Republicans’ health care crisis, reopen the government, pay our troops, pay our hardworking federal employees, and enact a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people.”
Jeffries has urged Democrats to oppose the stopgap funding measure that would reopen the government, and nearly all House Democrats voted against a similar bill in September.
Thune said the shutdown could end quickly if just five Senate Democrats break with Schumer and support the bipartisan measure to reopen the government.