on Wednesday ruled out taking up legislation to ensure military paychecks keep flowing during the government shutdown, telling reporters the House “already had that vote.”
Military pay should not be held hostage due to Washington’s dysfunction!”
State of play: Johnson has kept his members out of town during the shutdown, and the House hasn’t voted since Sept. 19.
“It does us no good to be here dithering on show votes,” Johnson said Wednesday when asked directly about Kiggans’ bill.
The intrigue: Johnson said Tuesday he was open to Kiggans’ bill, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)
R-La. Speaker Mike Johnson. told reporters the House “already had that vote” on Wednesday, ruling out introducing legislation to guarantee military salaries continue during the government shutdown. “.
Why it matters: The troops will not be seeing their October. if Congress does nothing, 15 paychecks.
“The House job is done,” Johnson declared.
In order to exert pressure on Democrats to reopen the government, the GOP is trying to make the shutdown as painful as possible. This position is part of their broader strategy.
“The House Democrats do not agree with Hakeem Jeffries. are demanding a return visit and another vote, as some of them wish to publicly declare their support for troop funding. That vote was already taken. “We call it the CR,” Johnson continued.
The bill was introduced by a representative from Virginia. The House has 122 bipartisan co-sponsors for Republican Jen Kiggans. It would include the Coast Guard and other members of the armed forces.
It is anticipated that active-duty troops will continue to work unpaid; however, they will be compensated when the government reopens.
Kiggans pleaded with leadership to introduce her legislation right away in a statement that was initially given to Axios.
“The President has stated unequivocally that we are required to compensate our troops. In order to guarantee that our servicemembers, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck while providing for their families, receive the compensation they have earned, I am pleading with the Speaker and our House leadership to swiftly pass my bill. “We shouldn’t let Washington’s dysfunction hold military pay hostage,” she declared.
Currently, the House has not held a vote since September, and Johnson has prevented his members from traveling during the shutdown. 19. .
According to Johnson, the Senate now has the final say after the House completed its task by passing a clean stopgap measure.
Johnson stated, “It does us no good to be here dithering on show votes,” in response to a direct question regarding Kiggans’ bill on Wednesday.
Quick catch: In the past, Congress has intervened to preserve military pay during shutdowns.
Just hours before the government shut down in 2013, Congress passed the Pay Our Military Act.
Furthermore, the Department of Defense appropriations bill was already approved by Congress in 2019, and the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps continued to receive their salaries as usual. But the Coast Guard wasn’t mentioned.
The fiscal 2026 defense appropriations bill has not yet been approved by Congress.
The mystery: Johnson stated on Tuesday that he was amenable to Kiggans’ bill; however, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S. A. swiftly interrupted and deemed the measure superfluous.
“Yes, I’m amenable to that. We’ve done it before. Johnson stated, “We want to ensure that our troops are paid.”.
Then Thune interrupted: “To be honest, you don’t require that. “,”.
Note from the editor: More reporting has been added to this story.
