Democrats have been trying to use the troops to score political points against the GOP.
Several Democrats have proposed the idea of paying the military only, but the legislation was rejected by the GOP to block the Dems from using them as pawns.
Trump just ended any hope Dems had of using that tactic, ordering Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to pay the troops even while the shutdown is going on.
As most of you probably know, there is a major debate over the Obamacare subsidies. The GOP was willing to extend the subsidies for one year to end the shutdown, which was rejected by Democrats.
One of the reasons the GOP does not want to extend them further than that is because they believe far too many are benefiting from the tax break, and they want to put an income cap on the tax break.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) was asked about a possible cap, and she responded, “John, what I’m focused on right now, in this moment — and I’m just so glad that the Democrats are holding the line and using our leverage. And health care is certainly worth that fight, because it’s not a nice-to-have, it is a must-have.
“And what we know, is, given the impacts of the big, ugly bill, the cuts to Medicaid, it is essential that we restore those cuts. It’s essential that we save healthcare, that we make permanent those Affordable Care Act subsidies, which lowered the cost of health care, and that we re-open the government. And that’s the focus right now. But health care is not a nice-to-have, it is a must-have.”
Obviously, Pressley never actually answered the question given to her, as is usually the case.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) was asked about Democrats previously stating that the government should never be shut down over policy, but Klobuchar claims that is not the case here.
She responded, “No, but this is about the budget. The budget is a statement of our values. The budget is about where we’re putting money.
“They chose to put a whole bunch of money in the pockets of wealthy people with the big, beautiful betrayal of a bill. That’s what they did. And they put us into much, much bigger debt, and, as a result, triggered Medicare cuts. They already had Medicaid cuts in there, and then they didn’t correct this.”
Democrats have tried to grandstand by offering pay for troops, but Trump just took that off the board by ordering Hegseth to pay them.
Trump posted to Truth Social, "Chuck Schumer recently said, ‘Every day gets better’ during their Radical Left Shutdown. I DISAGREE! If nothing is done, because of ‘Leader’ Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th."
He then added, "I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown. The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
I love this move by Trump, and after the shutdown is over, I would love to see the GOP pass legislation that all necessary workers are exempt during future government shutdowns. If you are going to force people to work, they should be getting paid and not used as pawns in a political battle.
