Trump Orders Pentagon to Pay Troops Despite Shutdown (1)

President Donald Trump ordered the Defense Department to use whatever funds remain available to pay troops during the government shutdown, a politically popular but legally dubious move that threatens to prolong the 15-day impasse over spending.

Trump did not identify what funds would be used for the roughly $8 billion defense payroll, but told the Pentagon to draw on unspent funds in other accounts that have a “reasonable, logical relationship to the pay and allowances of military personnel.” White House officials previously said that research and development accounts would be the likely source of the funding.

Pete Hegseth, US secretary of defense, right, and President Donald Trump

Photographer: Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg

The directive — ...