Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday night that despite the government shutdown, Coast Guard service members will receive their paychecks this week.
Noem said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, found an “innovative” way to provide the money. The announcement came two days after President Donald Trump said he would order the Defense Department to pay the military on Wednesday, even though most government workers are not paid during the federal funding gap.
“President Trump did not want any of our military to go without pay as a result of Democrats’ political theater, and we at DHS crafted an innovative solution to make sure that didn’t happen,” Noem said on X.
When asked for details about the “innovative solution” or where the funds would come from, a DHS spokesperson did not provide any new information and instead referred NBC News to the text of Noem’s social media post.
We would like to hear from you how you are experiencing the government shutdown, whether you are a federal employee who is unable to work right now or someone who is feeling the effects of the shutdown in your daily life. Please contact us at tips@nbcuni.com or contact us here.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said over the weekend that it plans to use research and development funds to deliver paychecks to military service members this week.
Last week, the administration began laying off more than 4,000 federal workers in seven departments. Of them, 176 were DHS employees, according to a Justice Department court filing on Friday. The dismissals are being challenged in court.
The moves to pay some uniformed service members who would otherwise go unpaid during the shutdown are the administration’s latest efforts to make up for some of the less popular aspects of the funding lapse, which is about to hit the two-week mark.
Congress does not appear to have a plan to reopen the government.
The Senate has repeatedly voted and failed to pass the Republican and Democratic versions of a temporary funding bill. The House reconvenes Tuesday, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will not reconvene the House until the Senate passes a funding bill.
