The White House will pay members of the military on Friday, averting a missed paycheck for troops as the government shutdown drags on by tapping into three separate funding sources.
An official with the Office and Management and Budget (OMB) confirmed to The Hill that the administration will cover $5.3 billion in military pay in part by utilizing $2.5 billion from the tax cut and spending megabill signed into law in July. The funding will specifically come from a military housing fund in the legislation.
The OMB official confirmed that another $1.4 billion will come from the research and development account at the Pentagon, plus $1.4 billion from the Department of Defense’s procurement account.
Axios first reported the White House’s plans to pay the troops using other agency funds.
Friday marks the second paycheck set to go out to members of the military since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. The administration shifted research and development funds from the Pentagon to cover the first paycheck, though there was some uncertainty about how members of the military would receive their next paycheck.
Vice President Vance told reporters on Tuesday that the administration believed it had found a way to pay members of the military, but would not be able to cover other funding shortfalls amid the shutdown.
“We believe that we can continue to pay the troops on Friday,” Vance said during a visit to the Capitol. “Unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to pay everybody, because we’ve been handed a very bad hand by the Democrats.”
The New York Times reported that billionaire Trump supporter Timothy Mellon gave $130 million to the Pentagon to help cover the cost of military pay during the shutdown. The donation just covers a small part of the multibillion-dollar Pentagon budget for troop pay.
Meanwhile, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, are set to run out of funding in the coming days, and the Trump administration has said it is unable to tap contingency funds to keep those benefits flowing.
Senate Democrats, who have repeatedly voted against a continuing resolution to fund the government at existing levels amid a push to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, are mulling proposals to pay for SNAP benefits in the interim.
