Vice President Vance says troops will be paid as pressure builds on
Congress to end the shutdown
[October 29, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday he believes U.S.
military members will be paid at the end of the week, though he did not
specify how the Trump administration will reconfigure funding as pain
from the second-longest shutdown spreads nationwide.
The funding fight in Washington gained new urgency this week as millions
of Americans face the prospect of losing food assistance, more federal
workers miss their first full paycheck and recurring delays at airports
snarl travel plans.
“We do think that we can continue paying the troops, at least for now,”
Vance told reporters after lunch with Senate Republicans at the Capitol.
“We’ve got food stamp benefits that are set to run out in a week. We’re
trying to keep as much open as possible. We just need the Democrats to
actually help us out.”
The vice president reaffirmed Republicans' strategy of trying to pick
off a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for stopgap funding to reopen
the government. But nearly a month into the shutdown, it hasn't worked.
Just before Vance's visit, a Senate vote on legislation to reopen the
government failed for the 13th time.
Federal employee union calls for end to shutdown
The strain is building on Democratic lawmakers to end the impasse. That
was magnified by the nation's largest federal employee union, which on
Monday called on Congress to immediately pass a funding bill and ensure
workers receive full pay. Everett Kelley, president of the American
Federation of Government Employees, said the two political parties have
made their point.
"It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown
today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship," said Kelley, whose union
carries considerable political weight with Democratic lawmakers.
Still, Democratic senators, including those representing states with
many federal workers, did not appear ready to back down. Virginia Sen.
Tim Kaine said he was insisting on commitments from the White House to
prevent the administration from mass firing more workers. Democrats also
want Congress to extend subsidies for health plans under the Affordable
Care Act.
“We’ve got to get a deal with Donald Trump,” Kaine said.
But shutdowns grow more painful the longer they go. Soon, with closures
lasting a fourth full week as of Tuesday, millions of Americans are
likely to experience the difficulties firsthand.
“This week, more than any other week, the consequences become impossible
to ignore," said Rep. Lisa McClain, chair of the House Republican
Conference.
How will Trump administration reconfigure funds?
The nation’s 1.3 million active duty service members were at risk of
missing a paycheck on Friday. Earlier this month, the Trump
administration ensured they were paid by shifting $8 billion from
military research and development funds to make payroll. Vance did not
say Tuesday how the Department of Defense will cover troop pay this
time.
Larger still, the Trump administration says funding will run out Friday
for the food assistance program that is relied upon by 42 million
Americans to supplement their grocery bills. The administration has
rejected the use of more than $5 billion in contingency funds to keep
benefits flowing into November. And it says states won't be reimbursed
if they temporarily cover the cost of benefits next month.
A coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit
Tuesday in Massachusetts that aims to keep SNAP benefits flowing by
compelling the Agriculture Department to use the SNAP contingency funds.
Vance said that reconfiguring funds for various programs such as SNAP
was like “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with the budget.”
The Agriculture Department says the contingency fund is intended to help
respond to emergencies such as natural disasters. Democrats say the
decision concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known
as SNAP, goes against the department's previous guidance concerning its
operations during a shutdown.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the
administration made an intentional choice not to the fund SNAP in
November, calling it an "act of cruelty.”
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Volunteer Cindy Leiva helps load a vehicle during a food
distribution targeting federal employee households affected by the
federal shutdown as well as SNAP recipients, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025,
in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Another program endangered by the shutdown is Head Start, with more
than 130 preschool programs not getting federal grants on Saturday
if the shutdown continues, according to the National Head Start
Association. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs
across the country could be affected.
Judge blocks firings
A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the
Trump administration from firing federal employees during the
government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail
on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically
motivated.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction
that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out.
She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the
job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday.
Federal agencies are enjoined from issuing layoff notices or acting
on notices issued since the government shut down Oct. 1. Illston
said that her order does not apply to notices sent before the
shutdown.
Will lawmakers find a solution?
At the Capitol, congressional leaders mostly highlighted the
challenges many Americans are facing as a result of the shutdown.
But there was no movement toward negotiations as they attempted to
lay blame on the other side of the political aisle.
“Now government workers and every other American affected by this
shutdown have become nothing more than pawns in the Democrats’
political games," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
The House passed a short-term continuing resolution on Sept. 19 to
keep federal agencies funded. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has kept
the House out of legislative session ever since, saying the solution
is for Democrats to simply accept that bill.
But the Senate has consistently fallen short of the 60 votes needed
to advance that spending measure. Democrats insist that any bill to
fund the government also address health care costs, namely the
soaring health insurance premiums that millions of Americans will
face next year under plans offered through the Affordable Care Act
marketplace.
Window-shopping for health plans delayed
When asked about his strategy for ending the shutdown, Schumer said
that millions of Americans will begin seeing on Saturday how much
their health insurance is going up next year.
“People in more than 30 states are going to be aghast, aghast when
they see their bills,” Schumer said. "And they are going to cry out,
and I believe there will be increased pressure on Republicans to
negotiate.”
The window for enrolling in ACA health plans begins Saturday. In
past years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has
allowed Americans to preview their health coverage options about a
week before open enrollment. But, as of Tuesday, Healthcare.gov
appeared to show 2025 health insurance plans and estimated prices,
instead of next year’s options.
Republicans insist they will not entertain negotiations on health
care until the government reopens.
“I’m particularly worried about premiums going up for working
families,” said Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa. "So we’re going to have
that conversation, but we’re not going to have it until the
government opens.”
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti in
Washington and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to
this report.
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