Trump orders Pentagon to pay troops amid govt shutdown

Washington, Oct 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he has directed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to "use all available funds" to ensure troops receive their pay on October 15 amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

"We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to pay our troops," Trump wrote.

The US federal government entered a shutdown on October 1, marking the first shutdown in nearly seven years. Troops are at risk of not receiving their next paycheck on October 15, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier on Monday, Trump indicated he’s ready to negotiate with Democrats to reopen the government as another funding bill vote in the Senate failed to break the deadlock.

The Republicans have accused Democrats of demanding healthcare subsidies for illegal immigrants, which the Democrats reject as a lie peddled by the Trump administration.

Democrats say they are asking to reverse the healthcare cuts for American citizens in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was passed earlier this year.

Around two-thirds of the employees of the National Park Service, the federal agency that manages national parks, have also been furloughed during the shutdown, affecting tourist sites such as caves in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

The Smithsonian Institution’s museums and National Zoo in Washington announced last week that they would remain open to the public until October 11.

This is the first US government shutdown in seven years, as the last one happened under Trump 1.0 and lasted for 35 days – the longest in history.

--IANS

int/rs