Donald Trump stated on Saturday that he instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to utilize ‘all available funds’ to ensure that US troops receive their pay on October 15, notwithstanding the ongoing ‘radical left’ government shutdown.

The US president’s assurance came on the 11th day of the government shutdown, occurring just days before troops were at risk of not being paid on the upcoming Wednesday.

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

‘I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.’

There are about 1.3 million active-duty members of the US military, whose pay was in danger because of the shutdown.

The Trump administration began their promised mass purge of federal workers on Friday, with more than 4,100 people laid off.

Before the government shutdown on October 1, the White House had requested all federal agencies to provide their reduction-in-force plans for evaluation by its budget office.

Trump slammed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in his Truth Social post.

He wrote: ‘Chuck Schumer recently said, ‘Every day gets better’ during their Radical Left Shutdown. I DISAGREE! 

‘If nothing is done, because of ‘Leader’ Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.’

The US president accused the Democratic Party of holding the US military and the ‘entire Security of our Nation’ hostage due to the ‘dangerous’ government shutdown.

Trump added: ‘The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy.’

The US government has been in gridlock since October 1, and the issue of military paychecks has become a hot point on Capitol Hill.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Saturday on X that ‘Democrats have voted to block the Republican CR bill to pay our troops EIGHT TIMES over the past 3 weeks!’ 

The Republican Speaker of the House lauded the US president’s decision. 

Johnson added: ‘Thankfully, our Republican Commander-in-Chief joins with us in refusing to let military families suffer due to the SCHUMER SHUTDOWN!’

It was unclear how Trump’s directive for Hegseth to use ‘all available funds’ would be implemented.

Schumer was also the target of Johnson’s ire, who accused the New York Democrat of being ‘the only thing standing between our troops and their next paycheck.’

Another X post from Johnson said: ‘Republicans have voted to OPEN the government and get our troops, Border Patrol, TSA, and veterans PAID!

‘But Chuck Schumer is terrified of a challenge from the Marxist left – so he and the Democrats voted to CLOSE the government—and to STOP PAYCHECKS from being issued.’

The Republican House Speaker attacked Schumer when he was confronted by a military mom on C-SPAN Thursday about the shutdown. 

The mother identified as Samantha from Virginia, said to Johnson: ‘I have two medically-fragile children [and] I have a husband who actively serves this country. He suffers from PTSD from his two tours in Afghanistan.  

‘If we see a lapse in pay come the 15th, my children do not get the medication that is needed for them to live their life.’ 

She continued: ‘I heard you earlier say you side with President Trump on anything that he says. 

‘Well, I just read an article this morning that said he absolutely, wholeheartedly believes there needs to be legislation put in [place] that we do not miss a paycheck.’

Johnson responded that it was the Democrats ‘preventing’ her family from getting their money. 

The Speaker of the House said: ‘If we get a vote on the floor to pay troops, it’s not a lawmaking exercise because Chuck Schumer’s going to hold that up in the Senate.’

The US government shutdown is expected to continue into next week, with Republicans and Democrats refusing to concede ground on their demands so far.

The House is out of session and the Senate isn’t scheduled to return until Tuesday.

The deadlock has already caused flight delays and prevented the Federal Drug Administration from processing new drug applications.

Democrats are demanding that subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of December be extended.

Republicans have countered that government funding should not be linked to healthcare reform and accused the Democrats of wanting free health care for illegal immigrants.

This is a breaking news story. More to come…