Airports experience flight delays, staffing shortages during shutdown
Staffing shortages hit major airports as TSA and air traffic controllers work unpaid during the government shutdown.
President Donald Trump said Saturday his administration has found a way to pay troops during the government shutdown.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Oct. 11, President Trump said he had authorized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use “identified funds” to pay the military.
During the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, members of the military could face missing a check on Oct. 15. However, Trump had said on Oct. 9 that members of the military would not miss a check, referencing possible stand-alone legislation to pay the troops during the shutdown.
Federal civil workers were expected to get smaller paychecks Oct. 10 because of the shutdown.
Trump’s post on Truth Social, posted at 1:35 p.m. ET, read: “That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS. I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”
How many military members need to be paid?
There are about 1.3 million active-duty members who make up the U.S. military, in addition to hundreds of thousands of National Guard members and non-service members employed by the Department of War, who will go without pay if some action during the shutdown is not taken.
The Pentagon previously told USA TODAY that military members were last paid on Tuesday, Sept. 30, as scheduled, but they will not receive payment again until appropriations are restored.
Military pay becomes flashpoint in the shutdown
One of the most emotional moments of the shutdown came Oct. 9 when a woman identifying herself as a military wife confronted House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, during a call-in program 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 call the House back,” said the woman, who said her two children with severe medical conditions “could die.” “You refuse to do that, just for a show.”
Johnson said situations like hers keep him up at night, but he blamed Democrats for the uncertainty.“The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check,” he said.
Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Virginia, who proposed legislation in September to pay members of the military despite the shutdown, urged fellow House GOP leadership Oct. 8 to swiftly pass her bill.
She has 148 co-sponsors. But the House is out of session while waiting for the Senate to approve legislation to reopen the government until Nov. 21.
Contributing: Zac Anderson, Michelle Del Rey, Joey Garrison and Zachary Schermele
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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