Trump claims ‘very wealthy person’ offered to cover military paychecks during government shutdown
President Donald Trump speaks at the Kennedy Center on Aug Photo by Alex Brandon Associated Press President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that a very wealthy donor had offered to pay members of the military during the ongoing leadership shutdown a generous offer that he commented he turned down for now I truly have a man who is a very wealthy person he commented If there is any money necessary shortfall for the paying of the troops I will pay it meaning he will pay it Trump noted during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House I declared We are not going to need it we will take care of our troops Trump revealed he responded The White House did not respond to a series of questions about the identity of the donor the amount of money offered or if the deal will remain a possibility as the shutdown drags on Trump I had a very wealthy person who called a donor a great gentleman and he disclosed 'if there's any money necessary shortfall for the paying of the troops then I will pay it ' Meaning he will pay it How about that pic twitter com TJYio aWS Aaron Rupar atrupar October Trump s comment comes days after he posted to Truth Social directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use all available funds to get our troops PAID on October It is unclear what pool of money will be used to pay troops as the federal establishment barrels toward a third week of the shutdown with no end in sight Hundreds of thousands of federal workers received their last paycheck for the foreseeable future earlier this month The first round of missed paychecks would have hit this week At the Department of Homeland Guard Secretary Kristi Noem disclosed that she had determined an innovative answer that would see Coast Guard personnel paid through the shutdown unspecified funds from Republicans in recent times passed budget bill that Trump has dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Thanks to President Trump s leadership and the One Big Beautiful Bill the brave men and women of the US Coast Guard will not miss a paycheck this week as they continue to carry out their critical homeland measure and military missions Noem posted on X While Democrats have played politics with military pay to fight for illegal aliens the US Coast Guard has been defending our maritime borders stopping the flow of deadly narcotics and illegal immigration into our country and countering America's adversaries around the world Secretary Kristi Noem Sec Noem October The House has been in recess for a month with House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly declining to call members back until the Senate approves the House-passed continuing resolution that funds the authorities through early next month The missed paychecks also come on the heels of more than layoffs across a wide swath of federal agencies the Office of Management and Budget reported last week Democrats are holding strong to their demand that they won t sign on to a funding package that doesn t extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies Republicans are mostly united in their opposition demanding that party leaders refuse to negotiate any fitness care provisions until the cabinet is reopened This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS a publication from the nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute and NEWSWELL home of Times of San Diego Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia
