Who gets paid in a shutdown? For Trump, it’s the military

President Donald Trump on Saturday directed the Pentagon to use “all available funds” to ensure service members receive paychecks despite the ongoing government shutdown, a move that offers relief to military families but leaves hundreds of thousands of other federal employees without pay or job security.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the administration plans to tap about $8 billion in unused Pentagon research and development funds to cover military salaries through mid-October. The White House framed the decision as a show of support for the armed forces, calling it “the least we can do for those who defend our country.”

But the directive is already sparking legal and political controversy. Under the Antideficiency Act, federal agencies are prohibited from spending money that hasn’t been appropriated by Congress. Past administrations have avoided such unilateral moves, relying instead on temporary funding bills passed by lawmakers. Legal experts warn that using unobligated funds to pay troops could violate that law and potentially expose Defense Department officials to penalties.

The White House has given no indication that it plans similar relief for civilian federal workers, many of whom have been furloughed or terminated indefinitely since the shutdown began. Critics say the administration is using the military’s popularity as political cover while other workers — from TSA agents to park rangers — go without pay.

The Pentagon move could also blunt one of the strongest public pressures to end the shutdown: the risk of missing military paydays. While the plan may temporarily ease that concern, it leaves questions about how long the funding will last and whether Congress will step in to restore full government operations.