National Guard troops deployed to Washington, DC for President
Active-duty troops, including reservists on federal duty, are required to show up for work in the event of a shutdown but would not receive any paychecks until federal funding is restored.
While Congress has sometimes passed legislation in prior shutdowns to ensure that military members get paid even during the lapse in government funding, House and Senate leaders so far have not brought up such a measure for a vote.
Without a deal or support from some Democratic senators for a Republican short-term funding plan, the government will at least partially shut down on Oct. 1.
Trump deployed more than 2,200 National Guard troops to DC, and roughly 1,300 of them are from outside the District, including Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia.
While traditional domestic National Guard missions include hurricane or wild fire response, in DC the troops’ tasks have been mundane. They patrol Metro stations and popular tourist destinations, pick up trash, lay mulch and rake leaves.
Since Aug. 23, they have completed 99 beautification projects in coordination with local and federal partners, according to the Joint Task Force - District of Columbia, which oversees the National Guard troops deployed in the city. These efforts include collecting 1,099 bags of trash, spreading 1,045 cubic yards of mulch, pruning 400 trees, and cleaning 6.7 miles of roadway.
“Joint Task Force-DC leadership is aware of the potential lapse in appropriations that can result in the event of a government shutdown,” the task force said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “National Guard members supporting JTF-DC will continue to execute their current mission and our commitment to the welfare and safety of DC residents is resolute.”
The White House Office of Management and Budget and the various agencies traditionally issue guidance in the event of a shutdown. Guidance for the Defense Department has not yet been made public. The Pentagon did not respond to multiple requests for comment over several days.
Troops typically have received pay retroactively for all the wages lost during the shutdown, but the last time Congress passed legislation to pay military members while the shutdown was still ongoing was in 2013. In subsequent years, either the Pentagon had secured funding for the year or a shutdown was averted in the nick of time — as was the case in 2023.
“A continuing resolution is a bad thing, a shutdown is even worse,” said John Goheen, the communications director for the National Guard Association of the United States. Deployment for Guard members in DC and elsewhere is how “they pay the mortgage, buy food,” he added. “They will continue to serve, but they do not know the next time they are going to get paid.”
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The House on Sept. 19 approved a GOP-crafted short-term stopgap measure to avert a shutdown. Senate Democrats blocked the House-passed bill while Senate Republicans blocked an alternative Democratic proposal, raising the specter of a shutdown.
Trump predicted a shutdown on Sept. 19, suggesting “it could last for a period of time.”
“And we’ll take care of the military. We’ll take care of Social Security. We’ll take care of the things we have to take care of,” the president said.
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Michelle Jamrisko
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