Overview
- Speaking aboard the USS Harry S. Truman after observing demonstrations on the USS George H.W. Bush, Trump told sailors they would receive “every last penny” and backed across-the-board pay raises.
- The Defense Department previously told active-duty and reserve personnel they would not be paid after Sept. 30 without appropriations, and many federal workers are furloughed during the shutdown.
- The president repeated a pledge to seek $1 trillion in military spending, including expanded shipbuilding and revitalized shipyards.
- Portions of the ceremony took on a rally tone as Trump blamed Democrats for the lapse in funding, referred to them as a “gnat,” and closed to cheering and a “YMCA” send-off.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Navy Secretary John Phelan joined the first lady at the event, which followed Hegseth’s push to end DEI programs and enforce new fitness standards across the force.