The House GOP leadership chairwoman blamed Senate Democrats for shutting down the government and the decision to “shamefully put funding of our brave troops at risk.”<\/p>\n

“I have consistently voted to fund the government throughout my time in Congress,” Stefanik said in a statement. “As a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and the longtime representative for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, I have cosponsored and am calling for a floor vote on the Pay Our Troops Act to ensure that our brave and dedicated servicemembers are paid.”<\/p>\n

However, Stefanik’s other leadership cohorts, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), have unequivocally said they will not put a stand-alone bill on the floor.<\/p>\n

“We’ve already voted to pay the troops. We did it three weeks ago,” Johnson said during a press conference on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

When asked by reporters about Stefanik’s comment later that day, Johnson didn’t respond<\/a> directly to her plea but reiterated that the House “already voted for military pay.”<\/p>\n

“Democrats are asking for more votes because they realize they made a major mistake,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n

A stand-alone bill to fund the military became a major point of contention this week as the government shutdown entered its ninth day. Military personnel will not receive their first paycheck since the shutdown, which is scheduled for Oct. 15, if Congress cannot pass a spending deal. This is poised to affect more than 1.3 million active duty service members.<\/p>\n

Republicans are looking to apply more pressure on Senate Democrats to vote for the GOP’s continuing resolution to fund the government until Nov. 21.<\/p>\n

Johnson seems unwilling to give Democrats a chance to vote on the stand-alone legislation, arguing it would be a “show vote” that provides the party with political cover. While taking calls on C-SPAN<\/a>, Johnson heard from a Republican military mother who pleaded with him to take action.<\/p>\n

“I’m begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die,” she said. “As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you. You could stop this. You could be the one to say, ‘Military is getting paid.’ The audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.”<\/p>\n

“They all voted on the record three weeks ago to stop pay for the troops,” Johnson responded, after apologizing and expressing sympathy for the military mother. “They’re desperate to try to get on the record, but that would be a show vote for Democrats. They do not care about it.”<\/p>\n

The Pay Our Troops Act has 148 co-sponsors<\/a>, 104 of whom are Republicans. Since the shutdown began, 57 lawmakers, a mix of Democrats and Republicans, have signed on to the bill.<\/p>\n

“We can have policy and political fights in Congress, but we simply can’t ask service members to put themselves in harm’s way without paying them,” Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), who signed on Wednesday, said in a statement<\/a> to the Hill<\/em>. “It should be a red line for anyone who cares about our national security and our troops.”<\/p>\n

Calvert, chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is in charge of defense funding.<\/p>\n

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAUTIOUS WITH SHUTDOWN DEMANDS AS JEFFRIES FACES HOUSE BACKLASH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Eyes are on other Republicans to see whether they will speak up and call on Johnson to bring the bill to the floor, and whether President Donald Trump will step in. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that passing a stand-alone bill “probably will happen.”<\/p>\n

“We don’t have to worry about it yet. That’s a long time. You know what one week is for me? An eternity. One week for me is a long time. We’ll take care of it. Our military is always going to be taken care of,” Trump said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n