Trump says bill guaranteeing military pay during shutdown 'probably will happen'

President Trump said Wednesday that a stand-alone bill to pay military service members during a government shutdown “probably will happen,” contradicting comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) earlier in the day.

“Yeah, that probably will happen,” the president told a reporter when asked if he would encourage Congress to pass stand-alone legislation to pay troops. 

“We have to worry about it yet. That’s a long time. You know what one week is for me, an eternity? One week for me is a long time; we’ll take care of it,” Trump told journalists at the White House. “Our military is always going to be taken care of.” 

Johnson indicated opposition to bringing stand-alone legislation to pay military service members during the ongoing government shutdown, an apparent shift from Tuesday. 

Democratic Party lawmakers, Johnson claimed, “are clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they were paying the troops.”

“We already had that vote. It’s called the CR [continuing resolution],” the House speaker said, referencing the Republican-led stopgap measure the House passed that would fund the government through Nov. 21.

If Congress does not act by passing a stand-alone bill or reopen the government by Oct. 15, roughly 1.3 million active duty service members will start missing paychecks.

In a Wednesday letter led by Democratic Reps. Gabe Vasquez (N.M.) and Derek Tran (Calif.), 10 House Democrats called on Johnson to bring the House back before next Wednesday.

Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) is also urging Johnson and House leadership to pass her legislation to ensure troops are paid in a government shutdown

“Military pay should not be held hostage due to Washington’s dysfunction,” Kiggans said in a statement.

Democrats are demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of 2025 and have blocked the <a href=”https://hp.taboola.com/nexstar-thehill/log/3/click?pi=%2F&ri=66a54f6bc9a67ecb9b6063fc7ebf8e03&sd=v2_71fbf6ddd1d5d6478936094aa7be39f7_ce6f6ac6-613a-4405-82dc-4f04e965c8e2-tuctdc76a7a_1759957277_1759959171_CIi3jgYQw91eGJOB962cMyAEKAMw4QE4kaQOQLO-Dkisy9kDUP8DWABgoB9o59__tbS7q4VqcAGAAQA&ui=ce6f6ac6-613a-4405-82dc-4f04e965c8e2-tuctdc76a7a&ii=~~V1~~3817402060514025444~~YRbrffaykUF9a-oGrREBhA&it=text&pt=home&li=rbox-h2v&sig=ed74d53192ce90e360735d7252206b4d0e8187e776b3&vi=1759959171219Republican-led stopgap legislation. 

Source: The Hill