USA
Trump wants to continue paying soldiers despite the shutdown
The so-called shutdown has been in force in the USA since the beginning of the month. According to President Trump, soldiers should still be paid. He blames the opposition for the standstill.
US President Donald Trump has ordered that military members continue to receive their pay despite the current budget freeze. He had instructed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to “use all available resources to pay our troops,” the president wrote on his online service Truth Social on Saturday. At the same time, he once again blamed the opposition Democrats for the so-called shutdown.
Due to the budget freeze that came into effect a week and a half ago in the USA, it is estimated that around 750,000 federal government employees have already been sent on compulsory leave, during which they will not receive any salary. Theoretically, around 1.3 million active military personnel would not receive their due pay next Wednesday – something like this had never happened before in recent history during a budget freeze.
Shutdown has been in effect in the USA since the beginning of the month
With Trump’s order to Hegseth, the military should now get their money on Wednesday. “I will not let Democrats hold our military and our nation’s entire security hostage with their dangerous government shutdown,” the president said on Truth Social.
The shutdown came into force on October 1st after Trump’s Republicans and Democrats in Congress were unable to agree on an interim budget. The budget freeze will only end when a transitional budget is passed – but this is not in sight.
The Republicans are the majority in both chambers of Congress. However, 60 votes are needed in the Senate to pass the budget; the Republicans only have 53 representatives there. The Democrats are tying their approval to the extension of state subsidies for the health system, which will make health insurance affordable for around 24 million citizens. The majority of Republicans reject this.
AFP
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Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
