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Republican lawmakers have criticized Donald Trump’s Plan to use congressional funds to pay the military during the government shutdown, which has now become the second longest shutdown in history.
Last week the President gave both pentagon And the White House has given the bill permission to use “any funds” left over from the current fiscal year to pay active-duty service members.
Typically, approval will be required from the President. Congress Before moving the funds around in a process called “reprogramming.”
Now, Trump’s unilateral action Making his own MPs uncomfortable.
Senator Jerry Moran, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “While this is a desired outcome, it is a process that is required – by the Constitution and by law – for Congress to not only be consulted but to be involved in.” politico,
Meanwhile, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said Trump was not following the legal process by redirecting the money.
“There’s a way we take care of it. It’s called appropriation. It’s called reprogramming. And I don’t think that process is being respected,” he said.
according to politicoThe trump administration Told her lawmakers that she plans to use $6.5 billion of the $10 billion left for military research to pay troops.
The President reportedly said he needed to control funding because leaving American troops without pay would pose an “unacceptable threat to military readiness.”
His move disrupted a Senate meeting this week to consider legislation to pay military servicemembers and federal employees.
It would need 60 votes to pass, with Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate while Democrats holding 45.
A memo from the Department of Homeland Security seen last week Huffington Post, It was revealed that the White House wanted to continue funding ICE during the shutdown.
The memo claimed the action would be “consistent with the Administration’s commitment to law enforcement officials.”
It ordered DHS to “allocate available funds to ensure full and timely payments” during the shutdown.
2025 government shutdown This is the second longest shutdown in history, lasting three weeks.
Longest shutdown in US history Started on December 22, 2018 and ended on January 25, 2019. Lasting 35 days, it unfolded during the first administration of Donald Trump.
At the time, the President was seeking $5.7 billion in funding for a wall along the US border with Mexico. Ultimately, the government renegotiated a deal that provided $1.375 billion in funding for the wall, which many saw as an example of Trump’s backsliding.
The previous record-holder was Bill Clinton’s Government shutdown, which lasted 21 days from December 1995 to January 1996.
This followed an earlier government shutdown, which occurred after President Clinton rejected a spending bill from the Republican-controlled Congress. That shutdown ended after Republicans agreed to Clinton’s amended bill.