Trump threatens no back pay for federal workers affected by government shutdown

The Trump administration has warned on Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what was a long-standing policy for some 750,000 furloughed staff, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.

US President Donald Trump signed into law following the longest government shutdown in 2019 during his first term in office, legislation that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse.

In Trump’s new memo however, his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund the government.

The move is widely seen by many as a strongarm tactic, as a way for the Republican administration to apply pressure on lawmakers to reopen the government, now on its eighth day of shutdown.

“There are some people that don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way,” Trump said during an event at the White House.

The US president said back pay “depends on who we're talking about.” When asked for a second time about back pay for furloughed federal workers given that the requirement is spelled out in law, Trump said: “I follow the law, and what the law says is correct.”

Refusing retroactive pay to the workers, some of whom must remain on the job as essential employees, would be a stark decoupling from norms and practices and almost certainly would be met with legal action.

While federal workers — as well as service members of the military — have often missed pay checks during previous shutdowns, they are almost always reimbursed once the government reopens.

“That should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” said House Speaker and Republican lawmaker Mike Johnson at a press conference at the US Capitol.

Johnson, a lawyer, said he hadn’t fully read the memo but noted that “there are some legal analysts who are saying” that it may not be necessary or appropriate to repay the federal workers.

Democratic Washington state Senator Patty Murray blasted the Trump administration as defying the law.

“Another baseless attempt to try and scare & intimidate workers by an administration run by crooks and cowards," she said. “The letter of the law is as plain as can be — federal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their backpay following a shutdown.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said, “My assumption is that the furloughed workers will get paid.”

The White House memo explains that while the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 says workers shall be paid after federal funding is restored, it argues the action is not self-executing.

Instead, the memo suggests repaying the federal workers would have to be part of subsequent legislation, presumably in the bill to reopen the government.

The OMB analysis draws on language familiar to budget experts by suggesting that the 2019 bill created an authorisation to pay the federal workers but not the actual appropriation. It argues that Congress is able to decide whether it wants to pay the workers or not.

For now, Congress remains at a standstill, with neither side — nor the White House — appearing willing to budge.

Democrats are fighting for health care funding to prevent a lapse in federal subsidies, which threaten to skyrocket insurance rates. Republicans say the issue can be dealt with later.