The partial shutdown of the United States' federal government continues to drag on after more than a month. Thousands of federal workers remain furloughed, while workers deemed essential — such as air traffic controllers — are required to show up for work but with partial or no pay.
President Donald Trump, however, has found a way for members of the military to keep getting paid during the shutdown.
In an article published on October 20, Politico reporters Jennifer Scholtes and Meredith Lee Hill stress that while GOP lawmakers are "happy" that "military troops are getting paid during the shutdown," they are frustrated by the way Trump is "claiming vast power over the federal spending process to do it."
"In a sweeping order last week," Scholtes and Hill explain, "Trump gave both the Pentagon and the White House budget office the green light to use 'any funds' left over for the current fiscal year to bankroll paychecks for active-duty servicemembers, which were due to be withheld last Wednesday amid the government funding standoff. The move took the onus off lawmakers to vote on standalone legislation to pay troops during the funding lapse — something House and Senate GOP leadership had resisted, fearing it would reduce pressure on Democrats to vote for the Republican plan to reopen the government as the minority party demands bipartisan negotiations on health care."
But according to the Politico reporters, Republican lawmakers who "oppose Trump's troop funding gambit" are being "careful to couch their criticism of the method with support for the end result."
Conservative Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) told Politico, "While it's a desired outcome, there's a process that's required — by Constitution and by law — for Congress to be not only consulted but engaged."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told Politico, "There’s a way we take care of this. It's called appropriations. It's called reprogramming. And I don’t think that process is being respected."
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Politico, "The appropriations committee in general believes that it should get more information and that we should receive a list of canceled work (and) contracts."
Sen. Brian Shatz of Hawaii, a Democrat, spoke to Politico as well, saying, "Look, I want the troops to be paid. But, as usual, they find the most illegal way to do everything."
Politico's full article is available at this link.