Senate Democrats blocked a House-passed spending plan on Tuesday, missing Wednesday morning’s deadline and prompting a government shutdown.
The outcome means active-duty service members, as well as deployed National Guard, and Civilian personnel whose work is considered essential by the Department of War, will have to continue working without pay until lawmakers strike a deal, CBS News reported. Civilian personnel whose work is not considered essential will be furloughed for the duration of the shutdown.
The Department of War published contingency guidance on Friday in anticipation of a shutdown. The guidance estimates that approximately 406,000 of the department’s more than 741,000 civilian employees will still be required to report for duty during a shutdown because their roles are mission-critical.
The guidance also outlines how unused funds passed in the summer’s reconciliation bill could be used to support the department’s priorities, including: operations to secure the U.S. Southern Border, Middle East operations, the U.S. missile defense project Golden Dome for America, depot maintenance, shipbuilding, and critical munitions.
According to a report from MilitaryTimes, Oct. 1 paychecks for service members will not be affects, but the first pay period after the shutdown could affect the Oct. 15 paycheck. Haleigh Laverty, spokeswoman for the Defense Credit Union Council, told the outlet many credit unions have already begun outreach to members.
“A shutdown could directly and indirectly affect [credit union] operations, including member paychecks, loan repayments, mortgage and credit card payments,” she said.
To combat to Democrat-imposed shutdown, Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia introduced a bill in September called the “Pay Our Troops Act of 2026,” which would keep service members and the Coast Guard paid during a shutdown.
The bill did not pass in time, and the House is scheduled to be out of session until Oct. 7.
Democrats Never Had a Real Plan to Avoid Shutdown
As Breitbart’s Bradley Jaye reported, only three Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), and Angus King (I-ME), voted with a majority of Republicans for the spending bill, which failed 55 to 45, short of the 60 votes required. Republican Sen. Rand Paul (KY) voted against the bill.
The same House-passed bill failed in the Senate just eleven days prior.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton
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