Trump Threatens to Withhold Back Pay from Furloughed Workers, Citing “Undeserving” Employees
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The ongoing government shutdown took a contentious turn as President Donald Trump threatened to block furloughed federal workers from receiving back pay, claiming some employees “don’t deserve” the compensation. This escalation of pressure on Senate Democrats, occurring on the seventh day of the shutdown, has also triggered legal scrutiny regarding the White House’s evolving tactics.
Speaking on October 7 in the Oval Office, Trump responded to a reporter’s question about back pay for furloughed workers with a conditional statement. “It depends on who we’re talking about,” he said. “I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy.” He further added, “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people. 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.”
This threat coincides with the emergence of a new legal analysis from the White House, suggesting that the approximately 750,000 employees furloughed during the shutdown may not be entitled to back pay upon their return. A Trump administration official confirmed this analysis to USA TODAY. Such a move would represent a significant departure from precedent, contrasting with the handling of the 2019 government shutdown, also under the Trump administration.
Legal Challenges to Back Pay
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 seemingly guarantees back pay for furloughed federal workers during lapses in government funding. The law stipulates that workers “shall be paid for the period of the lapse” for any funding lapse occurring after December 22, 2018.
However, the White House is now arguing that a subsequent amendment, approved nine days after the law’s initial passage in January 2019, introduces a loophole. According to reporting from Axios, the amendment states that back pay is contingent “subject to the enactment of appropriations Acts ending the lapse.”
This new interpretation directly contradicts prior guidance from the Trump administration’s own Office of Personnel Management (OPM). A September memo from the OPM explicitly stated that furloughed workers would receive retroactive pay for work performed during the shutdown. “After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were required to perform excepted work during the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those work periods,” the memo affirmed.
Looming Layoffs and Political Maneuvering
Trump’s threat to withhold pay is coupled with vows to eliminate what he terms “Democrat agencies,” cut programs, and implement mass layoffs of federal workers if the shutdown persists. The administration has also reportedly withheld funding for infrastructure projects in states and cities led by Democrats.
“Oh, sure,” Trump stated when asked about identifying programs for cuts. “We’ll be announcing it pretty soon. But we have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate.”
While the White House initially indicated that layoffs were “imminent,” with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, telling Republican lawmakers on October 1 that reductions in force would begin “in a day or two,” no layoffs have yet occurred. Trump suggested on October 7 that a decision on layoffs could come within the next four or five days if a resolution isn’t reached.
Democrats have countered by demanding changes to healthcare policy as part of any funding bill to reopen the government. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) dismissed the White House’s claims regarding back pay as “just more fear mongering from a president who wants a blank check for lawlessness. It won’t work,” in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson referenced the White House’s new legal analysis on October 7, urging Democrats to support a Republican-backed bill to fund the government at current levels through November 21. “If that is true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” Johnson stated. He added that Trump has expressed his hope that federal workers will receive back pay.
The situation remains fluid, with the fate of furloughed workers and the broader government shutdown hanging in the balance as negotiations continue.
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