Army Spc. Philip Charles VanDerHeyden IV confirmed on Wednesday, Oct. 15, he was paid overnight. "We get paid a day early at the Armed Forces Bank due to their ties with the (Department of Defense)," said VenDerHeyden, who serves with the U.S. Army Sustainment Command at Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.

Military members checking their bank accounts received a pleasant surprise on Wednesday, Oct. 15, after President Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to reallocate $6.5 billion from unspent funds to pay active-duty troops. Wednesday's paychecks may only offer temporarily financial relief if the government shutdown continues.

The Trump administration reportedly used roughly $6.5 billion in leftover military research and development funds to cover this week’s paychecks for 1.3 million active-duty troops and thousands of National Guard members and reservists,

House Democrats had attempted to force through a bill on paying the troops after Republicans called the effort politically motivated.

Retired General and former Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army Jack Keane was bluntly critical of the Pentagon's new press restrictions Tuesday, telling Fox News anchor Bret Baier this was an improper attempt to "spoon-feed information" to journalists.

A caller named Samantha, who identified herself as a Republican, said her husband is currently serving in the military and warned that if troops go unpaid on Oct. 15, “my children do not get the medication that’s needed for them to live their life because we live paycheck to paycheck.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday cast blame on Democrats for a looming lapse in military pay as the shutdown impasse persists, pointing to seven failed votes in the Senate to pass

Get the latest Trump administration news as the government shutdown continues. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this could become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.