Trump administration threatens no back pay for federal workers in shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration warned on Tuesday that there is no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing long-standing policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo circulated by the White House.
Trump signed into law, following the longest government shutdown in 2019, legislation that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. However, the new memo from his Office of Management and Budget (OMB) states that back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund the government.
The move by the Republican administration was widely seen as a strong-arm tactic—a way to pressure lawmakers to reopen the government, which is now in its seventh day of a 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. He added that back pay “depends on who we’re talking about.”
Refusing retroactive pay to the workers, some of whom must remain on the job as essential employees, would be a stark departure from established norms and practices and would almost certainly be met with legal action. While federal workers—as well as military service members—have often missed paychecks during past 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,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference at the Capitol. Johnson, a lawyer, said he hadn’t fully read the memo but noted, “there are some legal analysts who are saying” that it may not be necessary or appropriate to repay the federal workers.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington blasted the Trump administration for defying the law. “Another baseless attempt to try and scare & intimidate workers by an administration run by crooks and cowards,” said Murray, who is the ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The letter of the law is as plain as can be—federal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their backpay following a shutdown.”
When asked a second time about back pay for furloughed federal workers given that the requirement is spelled out in law, Trump responded, “I follow the law, and what the law says is correct.”
A single-page memo from Trump’s Office of Management and Budget under Russ Vought, first reported by Axios, attempts to lay out a legal rationale against back pay for federal workers. The memo explains that while the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 states workers shall be paid after federal funding is restored, the action is not self-executing.
Instead, the memo argues that repaying federal workers would have to be part of legislation to reopen the government. The OMB analysis draws on language familiar to budget experts, suggesting that the 2019 bill created an authorization to pay federal workers but did not provide the actual appropriation. Congress, according to the memo, can 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 funds to prevent a lapse in federal subsidies that could lead to skyrocketing insurance rates, while Republicans say the issue can be addressed later.
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