Noem claims to have found an ‘innovative’ solution to pay Coast Guard during shutdown. Nobody knows what it is

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that she found an “innovative solution” that will allow the Coast Guard to be paid during the government shutdown, but nobody knows what it is.

Nearly two weeks into the shutdown, Noem announced that the Coast Guard would be compensated, making a similar promise as Trump, who last week ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to use "all available funds" to ensure the military service members are compensated.

“While Democrats have played politics with military pay to fight for illegal aliens, the US Coast Guard has been defending our maritime borders, stopping the flow of deadly narcotics and illegal immigration into our country, and countering America's adversaries around the world,” Noem wrote in a Monday evening social media post.

“President Trump did not want any of our military to go without pay as a result of Democrats' political theater, and we at DHS worked out an innovative solution to make sure that didn't happen,” she continued.

However, the details of her plan are not immediately clear. When The Independent asked DHS for more information, a spokesperson sent the text of Noem’s tweet.

In her post, Noem cited Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law in July, that allotted $165 billion in funds for DHS. Sources told Punchbowl News that the administration is looking to use funds from the act to compensate active-duty Coast Guard service members.

DHS guidance in the event of a shutdown, published last month, states: “Active duty military members are excepted because their entitlement to pay is provided” under a federal law.

“This entitlement means that DHS is authorized by law to incur obligations for active duty service members pay. These active duty service members may perform normal duties during a lapse,” the guidance reads.

As of August, there were 52,377 on-board employees in the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard estimated that 49,622 employees would be excepted and retained during a lapse in appropriations, the guidance states.

The amount officers are paid depends on their ranks and years of experience. For example, a seaman recruit with less than two years of experience may earn $2,017 per paycheck, or around $30,000 per year, while an admiral with more than 40 years of experience may earn $18,492 per paycheck, or more than $225,000 per year, according to independent resource Federal Pay.

“Our people are the heart of the Coast Guard,” Admiral Kevin Lunday, Acting Commandant, said in a statement. "We are grateful for the actions taken by President Trump and Secretary Noem to ensure that our members — who protect and defend our nation’s maritime borders and our citizens every day — receive the pay they have earned.”

Last Friday, the president acted on his repeated threats of mass firings, with the Office of Management and Budget stating in a court filing that more than more than 4,000 employees would be laid off due to the lapse of federal funds. That group includes 176 DHS employees, the filing says.

As the shutdown drags on, other federal employees have continued to work without pay, including TSA workers at airports. A combination of staffing shortages and inclement weather have led to extensive delays at travel hubs across the country. On Monday alone, as the Nor’easter ravaged the East Coast, there were nearly 7,000 delays at U.S. airports, according to FlightAware.

The reductions in force also extend to 315 employees in the Commerce Department, 1,100 in Health and Human Services, and 466 in the Education Department, a group that includes staffers overseeing $15 billion in special education that is expected to impact 7.5 million children with disabilities.

Congress appears to remain at an impasse 14 days since the shutdown began on October 1. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC on Monday hasn’t met with House Speaker Mike Johnson because Trump hasn’t given the GOP leader “permission.”

“And we know that until Donald Trump gives them permission to meet, they’re going to continue to hide as it relates to sitting down and negotiating a bipartisan agreement,” Jeffries said.

At a Monday press conference, Johnson accused Democrats of playing “ridiculous political games” to continue the shutdown and took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, accusing him of determining “his own political survival is worth the irreversible harm he’s inflicting on the American people.” Schumer, meanwhile, has emphasized that the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.