(Washington) Donald Trump ordered on Saturday that the American military receive their pay next Wednesday, despite the ongoing budgetary paralysis which normally requires that no salary be paid to millions of federal employees for the duration of the blockage.
“I am using my power as Commander in Chief to order our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to ensure that our troops are paid on October 15,” the American president declared on his Truth Social platform.
The impasse continues in Congress between Republicans and Democrats, who have not been able to agree on a budget for more than a week, leading to this “shutdown”.
Elected officials from both parties have remained stuck to their positions since 1er October and the start of this blockage which resulted in the technical unemployment of more than 700,000 federal civil servants in functions considered non-essential.
Throughout the duration of the “shutdown”, all of the more than 2.3 million federal civil servants are not paid – even those who must continue to work – as are the more than 1.3 million military personnel.
Each political party blames each other for the crisis, and Donald Trump’s message on Saturday is part of this political communication battle.
“If nothing is done because of “leader” Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our brave soldiers will miss the pay they are rightfully owed on October 15,” said the Republican.
“I will not let Democrats hold our military, and the entire security of our country, HOSTAGE with their dangerous shutdown of the state,” he added.
In Congress, Republicans are proposing an extension of the current budget, with the same spending levels, while Democrats are calling for an extension of subsidies for health insurance programs for low-income households.
Due to the rules in force in the Senate, several Democratic votes are necessary to adopt a budget, despite a Republican majority.
But Donald Trump rejects any negotiation with the opposition on health issues without “reopening” the federal state as a prerequisite.
The White House announced Friday that it had begun to fire federal civil servants, a threat to Democrats that Donald Trump had been brandishing for several days.
