White House says federal workers’ backpay during shutdown isn’t guaranteed

The White House is stepping up pressure on federal employees as it tries to persuade Democrats to get on board with Republicans’ short-term spending plan, a day after President Trump signaled he was eager to end the government shutdown.

A new memo disclosed on Tuesday asserts that under a 2019 law meant to ensure back pay after a shutdown ends, the administration isn’t obligated to pay furloughed employees.

Trump, when asked at the White House on Tuesday afternoon about back pay for those workers, said, “I would say it depends on who we’re talking about.” The Democrats “have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy,” the President said in the Oval Office.

But it really depends on who you’re talking about,” he said. “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people.” Trump added, “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”

The administration has previously warned that the shutdown will soon lead to thousands of federal workers being permanently laid off, rather than just furloughed, as has been the case in past funding lapses.

Asked Tuesday how many permanent jobs are on the chopping block, Trump said he will be able to say “in four or five days, if this keeps going on.” “It’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” he added. “But you’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget, actually.”

As of now, it doesn’t look like the government shutdown will end any time soon.