The White House cited more than a dozen past presidents to justify President Donald Trump's decision to redirect Pentagon funds to pay U.S. troops during the ongoing shutdown.
Critics warned that the move sidesteps Congress' constitutional control of federal spending, Axios reported.
Trump's budget office sent Congress a five-page memo arguing that U.S. history supports repurposing unobligated defense funds to guarantee military pay during a shutdown.
Axios, which first reported the memo's existence, said it cited examples such as Presidents George Washington and John F. Kennedy.
Trump issued orders Oct. 11 and Oct. 15 directing the Department of War to use available funds to prevent troops from missing paychecks.
Reuters and The Associated Press reported the administration moved roughly $8 billion from Pentagon research and development accounts.
The Oct. 15 directive stated that a missed payroll would present "a serious and unacceptable threat to military readiness and the ability of our Armed Forces to protect and defend our Nation."
The Pentagon accounts used, known as Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funds, remain available for up to two years, including unobligated balances from the previous fiscal cycle.
Military.com reported that legal experts are debating whether such a movement complies with the Antideficiency Act.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Senate Democrats declined to pass a funding measure unless it included guarantees to extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. The AP has reported that each side accuses the other of refusing to negotiate.
The historical argument in the memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget points to George Washington's use of executive funds to assist French refugees from Saint-Domingue in the 1790s and to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion.
President Abraham Lincoln's July 4, 1861, address asked Congress to retroactively approve emergency military spending he authorized at the outset of the Civil War.
In 1906, Secretary of War William Howard Taft ordered roughly $1.5 million in disaster relief for San Francisco without prior appropriations, according to Senate historical records.
Kennedy created the Peace Corps on Mar. 1, 1961, by executive order and funded it with State Department contingency money months before formal congressional approval.
But Bobby Kogan, a former senior OMB official under President Joe Biden, criticized Trump on X, writing that Trump and OMB Director Russell Vought were "breaking both sides of spending law," becoming an "appropriations king," and rendering spending agreements meaningless.
Other administration moves during the shutdown include attempts to lay off federal workers, which a judge temporarily blocked, and the withholding of billions in Army Corps of Engineers funds, largely affecting Democrat-led states, according to Reuters.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.