Eli Crane Blasts Potential Lawsuit from Democrats on Trump's Plan to Pay Troops

Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) criticized Democrats' supposed plans to sue the Trump Administration over its method of paying the military during the ongoing government shutdown.

President Donald Trump has vowed to take approximately $8 billion in appropriated funds from military research and development to pay military servicemembers during the shutdown, as they would normally go without pay.

According to Axios, Democrats have complained that the President's actions are "certainly illegal," but are not expected to significantly push back against them.

Representative Jim Himes (D-CT) said that while litigation could be forthcoming, it would be "politically tricky" and difficult to find plaintiffs.

Nevertheless, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Democrats for even considering the possibility in a post to X, arguing that "the Democrats shut down the federal government and are holding the American people hostage to give illegal aliens taxpayer benefits."

"So President Trump took action by using tariff revenue to fund the women, infants, and children program and his Commander in Chief authority to ensure our troops get paid," Leavitt continued, "but now the radical Democrats are going to sue to stop the President from paying our troops and protecting vulnerable Americans? They're despicable and heartless!"

Rep. Crane responded to Leavitt's post, commenting that "Democrats suing the White House for paying the troops would be a new one. I'm sure they could get an activist judge to go along with it though…"

The Arizona Congressman has been a fierce critic of lower-court judges imposing nationwide injunctions against the Trump Administration's actions, introducing articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in February after he blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk and associates, including the Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, from accessing sensitive Treasury records.

In September, Crane questioned "how much abuse is enough to merit any kind of accountability?"