President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that federal works may not receive back pay following the Government Shutdown. This reverses a law he signed in 2019 codifying the policy of paying federal workers when the government is shut down. As of today, nearly 750,000 federal works–furloughed as Congress can’t agree on a budget.
The Associated Press, of which KGEZ 20-20 News is a member station, reports the move was widely seen as a strong arm tactic to pressure lawmakers to reopen government, as party leaders remain seemingly at an impasse on day 7 of the shutdown. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on extending the health subsidies that lessen the cost of plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
After the longest government shutdown in 2019, Trump signed legislation into law that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund government.
The president during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday suggested he’ll “follow the law” on back pay for federal workers, minutes after saying the compensation “depends on who we’re talking about” and that some workers would be taken care of “in a different way.”
