Top US House Republican not sure if military will be paid as shutdown nears 1-month mark

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - It is unclear if military service members will receive their paychecks at the end of the week, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday, as the ongoing government shutdown nears its one-month mark.

"Their next check is due the end of this week, and we're not 100% sure," Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. "The administration, and everybody, is bending over backwards to try to figure that out, but I don't know the final analysis yet."

The financial uncertainty comes even after an anonymous donor gave the Pentagon $130 million to pay the troops. The donor's identity remains shrouded in mystery, though the New York Times reported that it is Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire who is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.

Trump announced the donation on Thursday, but has refused to officially confirm the individual. But the sum falls far short of the fund needed to pay the salaries of America's roughly 1.3 million troops, and it is unclear if the Pentagon will be able to scrape together the money when paychecks come due Friday.

Johnson also declined to opine on the donor's identity when asked by reporters, saying he has "not asked the president for the identity of that person, because they want to remain anonymous, and I respect that."

The shutdown, already the second-longest in US history, is set to hit the one-month mark on Saturday.

Republicans have insisted that any bill to fund the government be devoid of additional spending, pushing what is known as a "clean" continuing resolution to fund the government at previous levels through Nov. 21.

Democrats have stalwartly rejected the effort and have demanded Republicans support an extension of subsidies under the US' semi-universal healthcare law and reverse roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts instituted under Trump's signature spending bill passed earlier this year.