Johnson quashes hope of stand-alone bill to pay troops during shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he was “open” to a stand-alone bill to ensure active-duty military troops continue to receive pay during the government shutdown. 

On Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican reversed course and quashed that idea. 

“We already had that vote. It’s called the CR,” Mr. Johnson said, referring to the House-passed stopgap, known as a continuing resolution, that would reup the previous fiscal year funding levels and policies through Nov. 21.   

“Every Republican and at least one Democrat had the common sense to say, of course, we want the government to stay in operation; of course, we want to pay our troops and our air traffic controllers and our border patrol agents, TSA and everybody else,” he said. 

Federal civilian employees are paid every two weeks and will get a smaller check this week for just the few days before the shutdown began Oct. 1. 

Active-duty military personnel are paid twice a month, with the next scheduled payday on Oct. 15. Mr. Johnson said the government shutdown needs to end by Monday for those checks to go out. 

The House has been in recess since it passed the spending stopgap on Sept. 19 in a 217-212 vote. The speaker said he doesn’t see a need to bring the chamber back until the Senate clears the bill, which Democrats are filibustering, so the government can reopen. 

Mr. Johnson said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and his caucus “are clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they’re preparing the troops.”

The speaker doesn’t plan to give them the satisfaction.

“The House is done. The ball is now in the Senate’s court,” Mr. Johnson said. “It does us no good to be here dithering on show votes.”

Mr. Jeffries said he supports his members who have called for a standalone vote on military pay.

House Democratic whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said Mr. Johnson’s characterization of it as a show vote was “disrespectful” and showed a “callous disregard” for those impacted, particularly as members of Congress continue to receive pay during the shutdown but House Republicans aren’t showing up to work in Washington.  

“It is insane not to pay our troops,” Rep. Ted Lieu, California Democrat, said. “Some of them are in high-risk missions, and you want them thinking about whether they can get paid, whether they can care for their family? You don’t want them focused on that. You want them focused on our national security.”

The speaker’s remarks on Wednesday are a change in tune from the day prior, when he told reporters he’d consider a stand-alone emergency measure to pay military troops and air traffic controllers during the shutdown. 

“We’re monitoring that day by day and certainly open to that. We’ve done it in the past. We want to make sure that our troops are paid,” he said Tuesday. “I have colleagues like [GOP] Congresswoman Jen Kiggans in Virginia who has a big military district. She’s already filed legislation to pay troops.” 

Those comments came at a press conference with Senate GOP leaders, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly stepped in to present an alternative view, which is what the speaker echoed in his comments the next day. 

“You don’t need that,” said Mr. Thune, South Dakota Republican. “Obviously, there are certain constituencies, many of whom are going to be impacted in a very negative way by what’s happening here. But the simplest way to end it is not try to exempt this group or that group or that group; it’s to get the government open, and then all the adverse consequences of this go by the wayside.”