If Congress does not come to a deal to fund the government in the coming days, several paydays for military members, congressional staffers, and federal employees could pass.

By Wednesday, Oct. 15, more than 2 million active-duty military members will miss their first paychecks due to Congress failing to pass a 2026 defense appropriations bill that authorizes their salaries. In previous shutdowns under President Donald Trump’s first term, Congress had already funded the military or passed separate legislation to ensure troop pay continued uninterrupted.

Later this month, by Oct. 20 and Oct. 30, respectively, Senate and House staffers will have missed their paychecks, as their lawmaker bosses continue to get paid.

The House has been on recess for three weeks as an estimated 750,000 federal workers are furloughed. By Oct. 24, federal employees, including those at work and deemed essential, will have missed an entire pay period as Congress failed to fund the government for the start of the Oct. 1 fiscal year.

The risk of missed mortgage and rent payments for the military and civilian workforce is creating unease in Congress, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he’s unwilling to call back the House for a stand-alone vote on military pay.

It’s a shift from just a day earlier, when Johnson said he was open to advancing a bill to guarantee pay for troops and air traffic controllers if the funding lapse continued.

Speaking alongside Senate GOP leaders on Tuesday, Johnson said the House was “monitoring that day-by-day” and “certainly open” to such legislation, noting that Congress had taken similar steps in past shutdowns.

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At the time, Johnson pointed to a proposal introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) that would ensure military personnel continued receiving pay, adding that Republicans were “looking forward to processing all this as soon as we gather everybody back up,” but stressed that the main goal remained “to turn the lights back on here.”

But during a Wednesday press conference, Johnson signaled he would not take that step, even through a unanimous consent request, a procedure that would allow the House to approve a troop pay bill without recalling members to Washington, provided no one objected. He argued that Democrats were “clamoring to get back here and have another vote, because some of them want to get on record and say they were paying the troops.”

“We already had that vote,” Johnson said, referring to the GOP-crafted continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 21 that the House passed before the shutdown. “It’s called the CR.”

Johnson’s position reflects competing pressures inside the Republican conference. Hard-line conservatives have urged him to hold the line, warning that passing a troop pay bill would weaken the GOP’s leverage over Democrats and blunt the impact of the shutdown. But Kiggans has called on Johnson to “immediately” pass her bill, saying in a post on X, “Military pay should not be held hostage due to Washington’s dysfunction!”

The Trump administration has rallied behind Johnson’s position, framing the standoff as a fight over fiscal discipline and Democratic obstruction. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted on X, “T-minus 7 days until @SenSchumer’s vanity shutdown means our great troops won’t get paid. SELFISH Schumer cares WAY MORE about his own reelection (he’s scared of Socialist @AOC) than he cares about the essential paycheck of our SELFLESS troops.”

A draft letter was circulated among House Democrats and obtained by the Washington Examiner, urging Johnson to consider voting on a troop pay bill. “We urge you to bring legislation to pay America’s service members to the House floor for a vote in time to ensure military personnel get paid on October 15th,” the letter states.

“If Congress does not act by October 15th, nearly three million military families will miss their next paycheck. That’s unacceptable — our military families and troops deserve better.” The lawmakers wrote that “those who dedicate their lives to serving our country should never have to worry whether they will receive a paycheck, even during a government shutdown,” citing the 2013 Pay Our Military Act as precedent for bipartisan action. 

During that 2013 shutdown, Congress acted swiftly to pass legislation guaranteeing troop pay. More than a decade later, the absence of such a measure underscores how partisan divisions have deepened under Trump’s leadership, with both sides accusing the other of holding troops hostage to political brinkmanship.

The funding impasse has already shuttered large parts of the federal government and left hundreds of thousands of workers uncertain about when they will next be paid. Most federal employees, including Border Patrol agents and U.S. Capitol Police officers, will receive their final pre-shutdown paychecks on Friday, Oct. 10, covering work completed before the lapse in funding. After that, no new payments will be processed until Congress acts.

Republicans have highlighted the Capitol Police’s missed paychecks as evidence, saying it’s evidence of misplaced Democratic priorities. “Today, U.S. Capitol Police officers are showing up to protect government officials and staff in these dangerous times, and they’re doing it without pay,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Many Democrats in this chamber, I’ll note, will still receive their paychecks this month, while the men and women protecting them will not.”

The Senate is scheduled to begin a recess on Monday, Oct. 13, though that break will almost certainly be canceled as negotiations continue. The House, meanwhile, is in limbo after Johnson instructed Republicans to remain home during the early days of the shutdown to maintain pressure on Democrats.

Federal courts could begin scaling back operations by Friday, Oct. 17, as fee balances and other non-appropriated funds run out. On Monday, Oct. 20, Senate staffers, who are paid biweekly, will miss their first full paychecks, though senators themselves will continue to be paid. By Friday, Oct. 24, many federal employees will miss an entire pay period. House staff, who are paid monthly rather than biweekly, received their last paycheck on Sept. 30 and will officially miss their next on Thursday, Oct. 30.

Days later, open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act begins on Saturday, Nov. 1, coinciding with an emerging policy fight over healthcare. The law has become a key point of contention in the funding talks after Democrats proposed extending federal subsidies approved under the Biden administration that help roughly 22 million Americans afford coverage. 

Republicans initially ruled out including an extension of those subsidies in any stopgap bill, warning it would inflate government spending and complicate efforts to curb the deficit. But divisions have started to surface inside the party. Some GOP lawmakers have expressed openness to a limited extension, and Trump said this week he is willing to discuss a broader healthcare deal as part of negotiations to end the shutdown.

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The standoff now hinges on whether the White House and congressional leaders can bridge that divide, and on how much longer lawmakers are willing to let the shutdown drag on as paychecks, public services, and political patience run out.

Lauren Green contributed to this report.