Berlin has offered to front the paychecks of US military employees stationed in Germany as Washington’s government shutdown drags on, according to the German Ministry of Finance.
The German government stepped in to “initiate an unscheduled expenditure to ensure that October salaries are paid on time” to civilian workers on US bases in the country, a ministry spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse.
Senate Democrats have blocked 11 separate attempts to reopen the government this month alone.
The German Finance Ministry in Berlin has offered to pay the paychecks of civilian employees of US bases in Germany. Getty Images“It’s sad that German officials care more about American troops than Democrats in Congress, who shut down the government to push free healthcare for illegal immigrants, complained about paying military servicemembers and view struggling families as ‘leverage,’” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told The Post.
“President Trump has prioritized funding military pay, but Chuck Schumer and Democrats should reopen the government today so that no one has to consider any alternative solutions to support our military servicemembers.”
There are roughly 11,000 civilian Pentagon staff based in Germany who support roughly 35,000 US troops in the country, according to latest totals.
The temporary financial lifeline would cover local US civilian employees working on American bases in Germany, including those at the sprawling Ramstein Air Base and in Stuttgart, where the Department of War’s European Command is headquartered.
The German and the US flags fly at the US Airbase at Ramstein in southwestern Germany. AFP via Getty ImagesWhile the Pentagon did not confirm the arrangement was accepted, a DOW official told The Post that “we value the important contributions of our local national employees around the world.”
“Arrangements for pay to local national employees vary country-to-country based on specific agreements the US has with each host nation,” a DOW official said.
Ramstein Air Base is home to US Air Forces Europe. Getty ImagesIf agreed to, Germany anticipates that the US would reimburse Berlin for the payments once the shutdown lifts.
Military and political analysts weighed in on the news, criticizing lawmakers for continuing the shutdown — now the second-longest in history — while military employees and other federal workers are left without paychecks.
“Shame on us,” said the Atlantic Council’s Alex Plitsas in a brief post to X on the topic Wednesday.
If the shutdown drags into November, even Berlin’s stopgap measure may not be enough to keep things running smoothly — leaving thousands of American families overseas caught in the crossfire of Capitol Hill’s budget brawl.






