As the government shutdown dragged into its 31st day Friday, service members received their end-of-the-month pay, according to a spokesperson with the Office of Management and Budget.
The Trump administration pulled the $5.3 billion payday from three different accounts: $2.5 billion from One Big Beautiful Bill Act funds; $1.4 billion from the Defense Department’s procurement account; and $1.4 billion from the department’s research, development, test and evaluation funds, according to the spokesperson.
In a statement provided to Military Times, a Defense Department official said “President Trump is continuing to make good on his promise to take care of the troops” in spite of the shutdown.
Navy Federal Credit Union posted on its website Friday that they had received the funds for military pay for those who have their paychecks deposited to that financial institution.
While the White House was able to pull together funds to pay troops on Oct. 15 and now Nov. 1, some officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have said it’s doubtful service members will receive pay on Nov. 15 unless the shutdown ends.
“We were able to pay the military employees from excess funds at the Pentagon, middle of this month. I think we’ll be able to pay them beginning in November. But by November 15 our troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives aren’t going to be able to get paid,” Bessent said on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Oct. 26.
While the troops have so far been paid, military families are experiencing the effects of the federal shutdown in a variety of other ways, with more repercussions expected. Some of the issues include military spouses who work for the federal government and aren’t getting paid, families being stuck in limbo because of issues to moving to new duty stations, or families having to pay copayments for medications because their military pharmacies don’t have drugs available.
And many military families living paycheck-to-paycheck are under great financial stress, worrying about whether the next check will come. Food assistance programs, such as food pantries around military bases, have seen a surge in requests.
As of Oct. 26, the Military Family Advisory Network’s Emergency Grocery Initiative has provided assistance to 4,000 military families, with more than 46,000 verified families from across the country remaining in the queue, said Shannon Razsadin, CEO of the nonprofit.
The organization provides assistance, such as boxes of food and grocery cards, she said, noting it costs $200 to feed a family of four for a week.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
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