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Thune to force Democrats to vote on troop pay

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to force Democrats to vote next week on legislation to pay more than 1 million military service members during the government shutdown, according to Senate GOP sources.

© J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Thune and Senate Republicans are doubling down on their strategy of highlighting the plight of military families.

Thune on Wednesday put a bill sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to pay members of the military during the shutdown on the Senate calendar, setting it up for a vote as soon as next week.

President Trump has directed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to use “all available funds” to make sure active-duty service members and their families don’t miss paycheck

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