Vance: I believe US military will receive pay by the end of the week

US Vice President J.D. Vance said he believes the US military will receive pay by the end of the week, although he did not specify how President Donald Trump's administration will cope with the task amid the second-longest partial government shutdown in the country's history, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.

The fight for funding in Washington has further intensified as millions of Americans face the prospect of losing their benefits, more federal employees are missing paychecks and persistent airport delays are thwarting travel plans.

“We think we can continue to pay the troops, at least for now“, Vance told reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans. He noted the problems, adding that "Democrats really need to help us."

The vice president reiterated Republicans' strategy of trying to get a handful of Senate Democrats to vote on temporary funding to reopen the government. Nearly a month into the shutdown, that hasn't happened. Just before Vance's visit, a Senate vote on legislation to reopen the government failed for the 13th time. Pressure is mounting on lawmakers to end the impasse. That was reinforced by the nation's largest federal employee union, which on Monday urged Congress to immediately pass a funding bill and ensure that employees receive full pay.

However, Democratic senators, including those representing states with many federal employees, did not seem ready to back down.

But government shutdowns become more painful the longer they last. Soon, with the government shutdown in its fourth full week, millions of Americans are likely to experience serious hardship, the AP notes.

1.3 million active-duty military personnel in the country were at risk of not receiving paychecks on Friday. Earlier this month, the Trump administration guaranteed that they would receive pay by transferring $8 billion from military research and development funds to pay for the necessary funds. Vance did not reveal today how the Defense Department would cover the troops' salaries this time.