For the first time since the US government shutdown on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, some federal employees failed to receive their full salary on Friday, October 24, 2025. The US president Donald Trump. His administration ordered a government shutdown. The shutdown is expected to continue at least until Monday, October 27, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on a funding package. According to Forbes, around 670,000 federal employees have been placed on furlough, and an additional 730,000 are working without compensation, resulting in thousands of workers missing their paychecks. The initiative that would have permitted active-duty military personnel and certain federal employees who are not on furlough to continue receiving their paychecks during the shutdown was defeated by the Senate by a vote of 54-45, which fell short of the 60 votes required to move forward. How are Americans coping? To make ends meet, unpaid government employees have resorted to gigs such as food delivery.
The New York Times reported that thousands of people have been standing in long queues at food banks across the nation. Pamela Ward, a vice president in her union, Local 2206 of the American Federation of Government Employees, and a telephone service representative for the Social Security Administration in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of those working without pay. The 52-year-old said that even though she was aware that she would not be paid this week, receiving a paycheck with zero pay was unexpected. “Today was a rough day. The hardest part is that I have worked my entire life, and this is the first time in my 27 years of employment that I have ever received a paycheck with nothing on it,” she lamented. Thousands of Americans missed their salaries. Photo: Donald Trump. Source: Facebook Were the US military officers paid? During the shutdown, President Donald Trump has been using other sources to pay federal law enforcement and military officers. However, about 830,000 federal employees, according to the Bipartisan Policy Centre, are still being paid because their offices are self-funded or because there is additional funding available, such as cash that was carried over from the previous fiscal year. Workers are entitled to reimbursement by law when the government reopens. Despite the potential legal repercussions, Trump has stated that he might not reimburse everyone.
By Japhet Ruto
