President Donald Trump addresses sailors alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge on Oct. 5, 2025, at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. (Anderson W. Branch/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — President Trump told sailors Sunday not to worry about their paychecks amid an ongoing government shutdown, saying he will “always stand for” service members, and pay is “coming.”
But all troops will miss a paycheck if Congress does not agree on a deal to reopen the government before paychecks are processed for the next pay date on Oct. 15. A legislative effort to provide military pay despite a shutdown has languished without a vote.
Trump on Sunday sought to reassure sailors about their paychecks even as Republicans and Democrats in the Senate remained at an impasse over government funding that expired on Sept. 30.
“I want you to know that despite the current Democrat-induced shutdown, we will get our service members every last penny,” Trump said at an event at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., celebrating the Navy’s 250th anniversary. “Don’t worry about it.”
Service members will receive back pay once federal funding resumes, but a missed paycheck can cause hardship for troops and families living paycheck to paycheck.
One in three military families has less than $3,000 in savings, according to Blue Star Families, and the Defense Department previously estimated that nearly one in four service members has trouble putting food on the table.
A 35-day government shutdown from 2018 to 2019 did not affect pay for most service members but forced some Coast Guard families to rely on food pantries and discounts at local restaurants to get by.
In 2013, lawmakers passed a bill protecting troop pay shortly before the start of a 16-day government shutdown.
Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., introduced a bill last month to guarantee shutdown pay for active-duty troops and reservists on active service, including members of the Coast Guard, as well as civilians and contractors providing critical troop support.
But the legislation, which has the support of more than 50 House lawmakers, has yet to receive a vote as the House stays out of session and the Senate continues to hold failed votes on a short-term funding measure.
Democrats have refused to vote for a stopgap funding measure that does not include an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Republicans have also dug in and want to pass a “clean” government funding extension.
Senators are set to vote again Monday on two funding bills that could reopen the government, but both are expected to fail.
