White House may ‘run out’ of funds to pay military if shutdown continues, Johnson warns

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is warning that a key move by the Trump administration in the government shutdown impasse is only a temporary Band-Aid — and that lawmakers could soon be forced to reckon with the political quagmire.

Johnson held a press conference on the ongoing shutdown on Wednesday, when military service members were poised to miss paychecks if no deal was reached.

And while the funding fight shows no signs of ending, the White House granted active duty U.S. troops temporary relief by rerouting some existing Pentagon funds — aimed originally at research and development — to ensuring they do not miss Wednesday’s payday.

Johnson told reporters, however, “The problem we have right now is that, in spite of President Trump’s heroic efforts to make sure they get paid, that is a temporary fix.”

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“The executive branch, his help, is not permanent. It can’t be,” Johnson said. “And if the Democrats continue to vote to keep the government closed as they have done so many times, then we know U.S. troops are going to risk missing a full paycheck at the end of this month.”

The House passed the GOP’s funding plan, a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), on Sept. 19. It’s aimed at giving congressional negotiators until Nov. 21 to strike a deal on FY 2026 spending.

But in the Senate, where a handful of Democrats are needed to break a filibuster, progress has stalled. Democrats have sunk the GOP’s bid to consider the bill eight times and are expected to do so a ninth on Wednesday.

It’s led to thousands of federal workers being furloughed and several key government services being paused for lack of funds. 

Both furloughed government employees and those deemed ‘essential,’ including active-duty troops, typically do not get paid until shutdowns end.

Johnson said the current Republican government would seek to protect federal law enforcement and troop pay, noting “if there is a mechanism to do that, they will find it.”

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“The reason that the way they were able to get the troops paid for this paycheck — and as I said, this is not an enduring solution, because we will run out of the funds — but there was some unspent funds in, effectively, R&D accounts in defense,” Johnson said.

“They moved that over to prioritize payment of those who are putting their lives on the line today and who have families in serious situations,” he said.

It comes after Johnson ruled out bringing the House back for a standalone vote on military pay, arguing the legislation would have long odds in the Senate and only serve as a political bailout for House Democrats who largely voted against Republicans’ CR.