NEW: The Pentagon has told appropriators it will pay US troops on Friday by tapping unspent appropriations again, as it did Oct. 15. Everyone wants to pay the troops, but unilaterally moving appropriations without Hill input is illegal, critics say.

NEW: The agency that oversees US nuclear weapons is paying all its contractors through November—but none of its government employees. A feared downgrade of operations to minimal functionality is being averted.

NEW: A White House official, asked about Trump’s position on the Graham-Blumenthal Russia sanctions bill, tells me: “Any sanction package must provide complete flexibility for the president to continue to pursue his desired foreign policy.”

NEW: The government shutdown is already adversely affecting readiness, the Pentagon said in a document sent to Capitol Hill Monday and viewed by CQ Roll Call. “Critical exercises have been delayed or canceled,” including those “to deter China,” it said.