President Trump follows through on threat and begins cutting federal jobs
President Donald Trump’s administration made good on its threat to lay off thousands of federal employees, with government agencies issuing “retrenchment” notices heading into the weekend.
Although the federal government remains partially shut down, the Trump administration announced on Saturday, October 11, that it will pay soldiers by accessing unspent funds set aside for research and development.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, Oct. 13, that the government shutdown is impacting the nation. “It’s getting serious. It’s starting to affect the real economy,” he told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria.”
Bessent added that to allow U.S. military personnel to be paid, the government would have to withhold payments to other federal employees and services such as the Smithsonian Institution and the National Zoo.
“We’re going to have to adjust things a lot. We’re going to have to furlough workers here in Washington, D.C. and across the country,” Bessent said in an interview.
What did the president say?
In an Oct. 11 Truth Social post, President Trump said he was using his authority as commander in chief to direct Army Secretary Pete Hegseth to “use all available funds to pay our troops on Oct. 15.”
“We have identified funding for that, and Secretary Hegseth will use it to pay for our troops,” Trump said.
Given the number of people involved, the bill needs to be passed by Monday, October 13, in order for soldiers’ salaries to be processed on time, according to Reuters. However, because Columbus Day is a federal holiday, Congress is not in session, meaning the bill will not be passed.
How many soldiers were going to go without pay?
There are approximately 1.3 million active duty members of the U.S. military. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of National Guard and non-military personnel employed by the Department of the Army (formerly known as the Department of Defense) are also at risk of losing pay.
On October 9, a woman who identified herself as a military wife confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) during a speech on C-SPAN.
“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party and I’m very disappointed in you because you have the power to recall the House,” the woman told Johnson, adding that her two children, who have serious medical conditions, “could die.” “You refuse it, it’s just for show.”
Are military personnel still working?
Military personnel have continued to work during the shutdown because their roles are considered essential to national security. The military is expected to receive back pay once the government shutdown ends.
Congress determines military pay rates. According to Reuters, some members of Congress have recently pushed for a 3.8% raise for military personnel as part of a national defense authorization bill expected to be passed by the end of the year. The bill has support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.Contributors: Bart Jansen, Joey Garrison, Mike Snider. Reuters
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Please contact mdelrey@usatoday.com.
