Troop Pay Could Be Delayed Under Elon Musk-Inspired Government Shutdown

Service members are greeted by locked doors at the Harriotte B. Smith Library aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, October 1, 2013. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sergeant Ryan O'Hare)

Posted: December 20, 2024 --- Military.com | By Rebecca Kheel , Konstantin Toropin and Richard Sisk

Published December 19, 2024 at 5:13pm ET

U.S. service members could miss their paychecks at the end of the month if the federal government shuts down this weekend, as the world's richest man Elon Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, is advocating. The potential loss of pay in the midst of the holiday season was looming Thursday after plans negotiated by Republicans and Democrats in Congress to fund the government and avert a shutdown on Saturday were derailed, largely by Musk.

The billionaire spent all day Wednesday raging against the legislation on the social media platform he owns, X, followed by Trump himself coming out against the spending bill. The twin attacks from Musk and Trump caused House Republicans to scrap the previous deal. By Thursday afternoon, House GOP leaders announced an alternative plan, but Senate Democratic leaders were not involved in the discussion and some House Republicans were complaining about elements of the new plan.

In a government shutdown, troops have to continue working but don't get paid until the shutdown ends unless Congress passes legislation to allow paychecks to continue. The next payday for service members is scheduled for December 31^st, and the Pentagon is warning that paychecks could be delayed by an extended shutdown. "Objectively speaking, a lapse in funding will cause serious disruptions across the Defense Department (DoD) and is still avoidable," Pentagon spokesperson Major General (O8, 2-Star) Pat Ryder said.

"Therefore, DoD urges Congress to reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on fiscal year 2025 appropriations and avoid a [stopgap spending bill] or worse, a government shutdown." In addition to troop pay, a government shutdown could affect everything from childcare to temporary duty travel to elective medical procedures, according to guidance issued by the Pentagon during previous shutdown threats.

The Pentagon had not publicly released new guidance by publication, though the guidance they've issued for shutdown threats over the years has largely stayed the same. Potential effects at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would be more muted because of the way the department is funded, but some headquarters staff would be furloughed, which could have ripple effects on veterans' services.

It was unclear exactly how many days the government would need to be shut down for the Pentagon to miss its payroll processing deadline and therefore not be able to send troops their December 31^st paychecks as scheduled. Ryder repeatedly stressed the possibility of troops not getting paid during the holiday season, but he also suggested that the Pentagon would work as fast as possible to get checks out once Congress passes a new funding bill. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure our personnel are getting paid and taken care of as quickly as we can," Ryder said.

"In an optimistic world, this shutdown could be avoided, but if it's not … again, we'll work to make sure that our personnel have what they need to mitigate the effects." During the last extended government shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, most members of the military continued to be paid because Congress had passed a full-year spending bill for the Pentagon. But the Coast Guard, which is funded through the Department of Homeland Security, was affected by the shutdown.

That year, 42,000 members, including active-duty and Coast Guard civilian employees, went 5 weeks without pay. Many civilians were furloughed, but active-duty members continued to work. The service curtailed operations such as safety checks, issuing and renewing merchant mariner documentation and licensing, fisheries enforcement and routine maintenance of buoys and other aids to navigation, and deferred maintenance on aircraft and vessels. 

Food banks sprouted up around large Coast Guard installations, and nonprofits, including Coast Guard Mutual Assistance and the American Legion, provided loans and grants to service members and their families. "These are our brothers and sisters," then-Legion National Commander Brett Reistad said at the time. "They were out there risking their lives, saving lives" during the shutdown.

In another instance, when the government shut down in 2013, members of the military were paid because Congress passed legislation specifically to protect troop paychecks during that time. Similar legislation to protect troop pay during a shutdown was introduced earlier this year when Congress last careened toward a government funding deadline. But Musk's call for a shutdown also included a demand that Congress pass "zero" bills before Trump's inauguration on January 20^th, a demand that would seem to encompass any troop pay protection bill.

"'Shutting down' the government (which doesn't actually shut down critical functions btw) is infinitely better than passing a horrible bill," Musk contended in one of more than 100 posts he made on X about the now-dead bipartisan spending agreement since it was released. Current government funding expires at midnight Eastern time Friday, meaning a shutdown would begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday if Congress doesn't approve an extension.

During a brief lapse in appropriations, there would be little to no effect on government and military operations. For example, earlier this year, government funding technically expired for several hours, but the White House issued guidance saying agencies did not have to shut down because congressional approval of funding was imminent. When the government does shut down, all services considered "nonessential" stop.

In the military, that means all temporary duty travel and conference participation would be canceled unless it is in "direct support" of counterterrorism missions, according to shutdown guidance issued last year. Permanent change of station moves would be limited unless the move is for an essential activity. Military medical and dental care would continue, but any elective procedures would have to be postponed or canceled.

Lawmakers have previously warned that "elective" could include procedures as important as kidney stone removal or a mastectomy for breast cancer. DoD Education Activity schools for military children would stay open, but extracurricular activities would be curtailed unless they have a funding source that doesn't require congressional approval. Day care centers on military bases would also be available only if they are "required for readiness," according to the 2023 guidance.

Commissaries could stay open as long as cash reserves in a funding source known as the Defense Working Capital Fund were available. After that, only commissaries overseas or in remote areas of the U.S. where "no other sources of food are reasonably available" would be able to operate, the 2023 guidance said. Whether on-base recreational activities remain available depends on their funding source.

For example, in 2013, many base libraries closed, but bowling alleys stayed open. xchange shops are not funded through congressional appropriations, so they would stay open. At the VA, medical centers stay open because Congress approves funding for them a year in advance to avoid any disruptions caused by shutdowns or stopgap spending bills. Disability and education benefits for veterans would also continue, as would interments at VA cemeteries.

Suicide prevention programs, homelessness programs, the Veterans Crisis Line and caregiver support can also operate during a shutdown, according to the VA's most recent shutdown guidance. But some administrative staff at the Veterans Benefits Administration would be furloughed, and the GI Bill hotline that veterans can call with questions about their education benefits would be suspended, according to the guidance.

At veterans’ cemeteries, permanent headstone or grave markers couldn't be installed, and ground maintenance would be halted. A shutdown could potentially affect 640,000 veterans who work for the government at various agencies and departments, including 90,000 at the VA, said Will Attig, an Army veteran of Iraq and Executive Director of the Union Veterans Council at the AFL-CIO. "These veterans signed up to serve their country in uniform and now in civil society, and now their country is letting them down," Attig said.