House Republicans on Friday blocked a push from Democrats to pass legislation ensuring active-duty military members are paid during the ongoing government shutdown.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., presiding over a brief pro forma session, gaveled it closed before Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Md., could move to pass the measure by unanimous consent, Politico reports.
Bost later told reporters he stopped the effort because the House was only in a "perfunctory" session, and he was "representing the speaker."
"Sometimes, when you stand at the helm, it doesn't necessarily mean you're in charge of the ship," Bost said.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has maintained that Senate Democrats should act on the House-passed stopgap spending bill and has ruled out advancing a standalone troop pay bill.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's administration is exploring options to keep military paychecks flowing without requiring new congressional action.
The House has not been in full session since Sept. 19, leaving Democrats to use the short pro forma meetings to press procedural actions — including an effort to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., who won a recent special election.
Republicans have said she will be sworn in once the chamber formally reconvenes.
Johnson had said that checks to service members would be "held up" if the government shutdown was "not worked out" by Oct. 15.
The U.S. government shutdown is expected to continue until the next chance to vote to reopen on Oct. 14.
The speaker has designated the period of Oct. 14-19 as a "district work period."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday that the administration is "exploring" ways to ensure troops are paid despite the shutdown, CBS News reports.
"I know the White House is looking at options," Scalise said.
"President Trump wants to find ways to help get troops paid, and if there's a way that they can do that, he's exploring those options right now."
Republican leaders have so far resisted scheduling a bipartisan bill that would guarantee pay for service members. Scalise said there's a looming deadline of Oct. 13 to act before troops miss their Oct. 15 paycheck.
"That's the date a lot of administrative folks tell us is the magic date to get the government back open again," he said.
Neither the House nor the Senate has plans to return before the deadline.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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