NATIONAL NEWS

AP reader question: How does the shutdown affect National Guard troops?

Oct 4, 2025, 12:45 PM

Members of the Ohio National Guard patrol the National Mall, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington....

Members of the Ohio National Guard patrol the National Mall, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Here’s a question about the shutdown submitted by an Associated Press reader, Christian P.:

How does the shutdown affect National Guard troops?

National Guard troops will not be paid on time during the shutdown, just like the thousands of other employees deemed “essential.”

All active-duty military members, including those in the deployed Guard, must remain on duty, but they will not receive pay until funding is restored.

In years past, Congress has passed a stopgap measure preventing this pause in military pay. Days before government funding lapsed in 2013, lawmakers approved the Pay Our Military Act, which kept military paychecks going during the shutdown.

Before this shutdown happened, a similar bill was introduced, but it was not voted on before lawmakers adjourned and the shutdown went into effect.

We’ll be showcasing a different reader question about the shutdown each day for the coming several days.

___

Do you have a question for AP about the government shutdown? You can submit it here.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

National News

FILE - FBI director Kash Patel, right, and Alexis Wilkins arrive at the White House ahead of the UF...

Associated Press

FBI Director Kash Patel gets engaged to longtime girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins

FBI Director Kash Patel is engaged to his country singer girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, the pair announced in a post to X on Sunday evening. Wilkins, 27, posted a black-and-white photo of herself standing with Patel, 46, flashing her hand in front of them to show off her ring with the caption, “Went and got the […]

2 hours ago

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washingto...

Associated Press

Jeffries says House Democrats reaching to flip Trump districts in attempt to repeat their 2018 sweep

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday his party is on track to win back control of the House, confident it can overcome a fundraising disadvantage and reach deep into conservative areas to flip congressional districts won by President Donald Trump just two years ago. In a conference call with reporters, Jeffries, […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Police say woman fatally stabbed 7-year-old girl walking in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — A 7-year-old girl was fatally stabbed while walking in front of businesses in a Chicago neighborhood, and people nearby detained the woman who attacked her, police said. Chicago police said the girl was walking in the Chatham neighborhood late Saturday morning when a woman carrying an unspecified sharp object approached her and […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Now it’s Typhoon Nolo after Pacific hurricane crosses the international dateline

MIAMI (AP) — Nolo is no longer a hurricane. The powerful storm remains about as strong, but it changed names Sunday to a typhoon as it crossed the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. Now Typhoon Nolo is located about 395 miles (640 kilometers) west-southwest of Lisianski Island and moving west at 17 mph (28 […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

US Air Force removes all bombers from British air base targeted by a suspected terror attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a U.S.-run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base. The bombers were redeployed back to their home bases in the United States, according to a Pentagon […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

Search suspended for 6 people on missing medical flight from Bermuda to Boston

Authorities on Sunday suspended the search off the Massachusetts coast for six people on an air ambulance that disappeared during a flight from Bermuda to Boston. The U.S. Coast Guard said authorities searched more than 4,400 miles (7,081 kilometers) over a span of 66 hours for the four Canadians and two people from Bermuda who […]

11 hours ago

AP reader question: How does the shutdown affect National Guard troops?