President Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday to pay service members by utilizing previously appropriated funds during the ongoing government shutdown, seeking to sidestep gridlock in Congress.

The move also takes some pressure off House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was facing growing demands to call the House back to vote on Republican-sponsored legislation that would ensure troops are paid during the shutdown.

Some Democrats and policy analysts say the move is likely illegal.

Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the libertarian Cato Institute, told The Hill on Monday that “technically speaking, Congress can rescind unobligated balances and repurpose them,” but “for the administration to repurpose funds unilaterally is likely illegal.”

“An unobligated balance does not give the administration the right to use the money as it wishes,” Boccia said. “If Congress wants to ensure that America's troops will be paid during the ongoing government shutdown, Congress should pass a bill that authorizes funding to pay the troops.”

Trump announced the move on Truth Social after Johnson had teased executive action, just days before the Oct. 15 deadline when service members were set to start missing paychecks.

“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

A Defense official said Saturday that the department identified “approximately $8 billion of unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds (RDTE) from the prior fiscal year that will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service........

© The Hill