{"id":47818,"date":"2023-08-22T13:30:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T13:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/22\/government-shutdown-could-hinge-on-fight-over-woke-military-policies\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:51:00","slug":"government-shutdown-could-hinge-on-fight-over-woke-military-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/budget\/2023\/08\/22\/government-shutdown-could-hinge-on-fight-over-woke-military-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Government shutdown could hinge on fight over \u2018woke\u2019 military policies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A group of conservative lawmakers is vowing to oppose any federal budget extension and risk a partial government shutdown<\/a> unless congressional leaders promise to end all \u201cwoke\u201d military policies <\/a>and agree to other political concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move heightens already growing fears that troops and Defense Department civilians could see their paychecks stopped<\/a> and their job responsibilities paused at the start of October because of political infighting. Government appropriations for the current fiscal year<\/a> run out on Sept. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, members of the influential House Freedom Caucus<\/a> released a statement outlining demands for upcoming negotiations on the federal budget. <\/a> House Republican leaders will need to appease some or all of the caucus\u2019s 45 members to pass any budget deal, or get cooperation from Democrats on a spending plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a short-term extension of current spending levels or a long-term budget deal, numerous federal agencies \u2014 including the Department of Defense \u2014 would be forced to stop paying employees and shutter most activities.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, that has meant closures for military commissaries, cancellation of non-essential military travel and training, and shuttering of most family support programs. Troops would still be required to report for duty, but non-essential Defense Department civilian workers would be sent home until a new budget deal is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching a short-term budget deal was expected to be Congress\u2019 top priority when lawmakers return from their late-summer break in early September. But the process was already expected to be contentious, given strong disagreements between Republicans and Democrats in Congress on spending priorities. The Caucus demands further add to that challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, caucus members said they will support a short-term budget extension only if it includes plans to \u201cend the Left\u2019s cancerous woke policies in the Pentagon undermining our military\u2019s core warfighting mission.\u201d Group members did not specify what policies or programs that would specifically entail.<\/p>\n\n\n\t