Troop Pay Expected, Funding Sources Unclear

Vice President J.D. Vance said the administration expects active-duty service members will be paid by Friday and that it can “continue paying the troops, at least for now,” but he did not specify how funds will be reallocated. Pentagon officials have identified roughly $8 billion in unobligated research-and-development funds and reports note a $130 million private donation, while Treasury warned such options could be exhausted by mid-November. The shutdown, now nearing its fourth week, is already straining SNAP benefits, leaving many federal employees without pay and causing travel disruptions at airports. Senate Republicans are trying to persuade a handful of Democrats to back stopgap funding, but Senate votes to reopen the government have failed repeatedly (13th vote) and the nation’s largest federal employee union is urging a clean continuing resolution. Democrats say they will only support stopgap funding if the White House agrees to protections against mass firings and an extension of ACA subsidies, leaving negotiations deadlocked and critical services at risk.