The ongoing government shutdown has placed a significant burden on American military families, creating a pervasive atmosphere of financial uncertainty and emotional distress. Since the shutdown began on October 1, active duty service members, National Guard members, reservists, and their families have been grappling with the troubling prospect that their paychecks may not arrive on time, or at all, adding an unexpected and unwelcome layer of anxiety to their already demanding lives.
Alicia Blevins, a 33-year-old military spouse living at Camp Lejeune, a Marine base near the coast of North Carolina, embodies the strain many families are feeling. Her husband, a Marine, continues to serve under stressful conditions, yet the uncertainty surrounding their income has forced Alicia to seek therapy. She explained, “I don’t feel like I have the tools to deal with this. I don’t want to dump all this on my husband. He’s got men that he’s in charge of. He’s got enough to deal with.” Like many spouses, she bears the emotional weight of the situation, trying to maintain stability for their family while her husband fulfills his duties.
Although the Trump administration has managed to find ways to pay troops twice since the shutdown began, these measures have done little to alleviate the anxiety military families face. Each time, payments were secured only at the last minute, leaving service members and their loved ones in a stressful limbo. For example, just four days before the October 15 payday, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to utilize “all available funds” to ensure that troops received their pay. As the next payday approached, the White House announced it had again found the necessary funds, this time planning to move approximately $5.3 billion from various accounts, including roughly $2.5 billion from the tax and spending cuts bill signed into law over the summer.
However, these stopgap measures are temporary and cannot continue indefinitely. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on CBS's “Face the Nation” that by November 15, the government would likely run out of options to pay the military, and troops could go without pay. This looming deadline has only intensified the stress and resentment among military families, many of whom feel their service members are being used as pawns in political battles. Yet, as Army officer’s wife Jennifer Bittner points out, the situation is more troubling than that: “You have to be thought of to be used as a pawn,” she said. “And we’re not being thought of at all.”
Bittner’s family illustrates the real-life consequences of the shutdown’s financial uncertainty. Living in Austin, Texas, she cares for a 6-year-old daughter with high-risk asthma, requiring three inhalers that each come with a $38 copay. Her severely autistic son needs diapers costing $200 monthly, a cost that sometimes requires battles with military insurance for coverage. On top of these medical expenses, Bittner worries about the family mortgage and groceries for their household of five. The stress of potentially missing a paycheck is “mentally and sometimes physically exhausting,” she said, especially when members of Congress continue to receive their salaries without interruption.
Many military families live paycheck to paycheck, often relying on a single income—typically the service member’s salary. Even when paychecks do arrive, the shutdown has disrupted the timing of payments. According to Delia Johnson, chief operating officer for the Military Family Advisory Network, the October 15 paychecks were delayed compared to usual early direct deposits, causing some families to miss bill payments or incur late fees. For families already facing financial strain, this disruption can have cascading effects. Additionally, moving expenses have compounded the hardship. Each year, approximately 400,000 military households relocate to new bases, a process that often involves significant costs. During the shutdown, reimbursements for moving expenses have been paused, and not all out-of-pocket costs are being reimbursed, further squeezing family budgets.
The impact extends beyond active duty members. Many reservists and National Guard members depend on monthly weekend drills for supplemental income. These drills, which can bring in several hundred dollars a month, have been canceled during the shutdown, eliminating a crucial source of funds. John Hashem, executive director of the Reserve Organization of America, emphasized the importance of these payments, noting that reservists often use drill pay to cover mortgage payments and health insurance premiums. “People rely on that money,” Hashem said. “The way that this is stretching out right