Active US troops could miss a paycheck as $925bln defense bill passes
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The US Senate has passed a $925 billion defense policy bill in a bipartisan vote, even as the ongoing government shutdown threatens military pay and stalls broader legislative action.
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks with US troops in Port of Rodman, West Panama, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
In a bipartisan move, the Senate approved a $925 billion defense policy bill while the government shutdown threatened the paychecks of all on-duty US military personnel for the first time in history.
The annual defense bill passed easily Thursday in a blowout vote after Senate leaders broke a monthlong impasse, and it now requires negotiators to attempt to forge a compromise bill that can pass by year's end.
The defense legislation that sets military policy and the broad outlines of the Pentagon budget was clinched in a 77-20 vote despite a shutdown that has paralyzed Congress and kept most substantive legislation off the agenda.
Congress remains deadlocked on ensuring troops get paid on time, with little sign that either party will relent to reopen the government. Top GOP leaders are also rejecting a standalone bill for military pay despite growing bipartisan pressure.
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker called the agreement a positive bipartisan development during the funding standoff, lamenting the current period of hyperpartisanship and stating that both sides are ready to prove the Senate can act in the interest of national security and get something done on a bipartisan basis, which he stressed is urgently needed.
Congress clashes over plethora of defense issues
Congress has been at odds over contentious defense issues, including emergency troop pay during the shutdown, presidential deployments of the National Guard to US cities, and the repeated use of deadly military force against alleged drug traffickers.
Although the Senate's defense bill largely avoids those contentious issues, senators took several votes on National Guard deployments and presidential war powers on Thursday, and Wicker also agreed to hold a hearing on the use of military personnel in American cities, according to Senator Tammy Duckworth.
Just hours before the vote, Armed Services Committee member Duckworth stated she would block the bill until Wicker agreed to a hearing on the topic, confirming that a public hearing with administration officials will happen in the coming weeks.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin joined Duckworth in decrying the move as an attempt to weaponize the military against Democratic-led cities, as his home state of Illinois is among the latest targets of the push to send the National Guard, with soldiers from Texas beginning to arrive in the Chicago area on Tuesday.
