The US President announced that he has issued an order to pay military salaries next week despite the ongoing government shutdown.

He stated that he directed the Secretary of Defense “to use all available funds to pay our armed forces on October 15,” once again blaming Democrats for the funding crisis that has entered its second week.

He wrote on his social media platform, “I will not allow Democrats to take our military and our nation’s entire security hostage through their dangerous government shutdown.”

Republican-Democratic Disagreement

With no end in sight to the government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats are exchanging accusations about who is responsible for the crisis, and the message regarding the military has intensified the political disagreement.

This confrontation has resulted in hundreds of thousands of government employees being placed on temporary unpaid leave or being deemed essential and ordered to work without pay.

The shutdown threatens to withhold salaries from approximately 1.3 million active-duty military personnel next Wednesday, something that has never occurred in any previous government shutdown in US history.

The directive to ensure military salaries are paid came after the White House announced on Friday the start of mass furloughs of federal employees, as the President seeks to increase pressure on Democrats.

The Senate Democratic leader accused “Republicans of preferring to see thousands of Americans lose their jobs rather than sit down and negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government.”

Unions representing 800,000 government employees have asked a federal judge in San Francisco to issue an emergency order to halt the furloughs, ahead of a hearing scheduled for October 16 regarding the legality of these actions.

Budget Extension

Republicans are proposing to extend the current budget at the same spending levels, while Democrats are calling for an extension of health insurance support for low-income families.

Approving the budget requires several Democratic votes despite the Republican majority in Congress.