A sign indicating that the Capitol Visitors Center is closed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC is pictured on October 1, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
This report has been updated.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration could seek to interpret a law enacted during his first term differently than it did after the last government shutdown, potentially denying hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers back wages.
The change in stance was outlined in a memo from the Office of Management and Budget first reported by Axios released on Tuesday and confirmed by a White House official to the state newsroom, would dramatically change the risks of the ongoing funding shortfall that began Oct. 1.
President Donald Trump was not clear about how he personally views the law during an afternoon news conference in the Oval Office, but indicated he had no intention of giving back pay to all federal workers.
“I would say it depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump said. “I can tell you this: The Democrats have put a lot of people at great risk and danger. But it really depends on who you’re talking about. But by and large, we’re going to take care of our people. There are some people who really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’re going to take care of them in a different way.”
Trump said he would likely announce mass layoffs of federal workers next week, opening the door to cutting funding approved by Congress if the shutdown continues.
“I can tell you in four or five days if this continues,” Trump said. “If this continues it will be significant and many of these jobs will never come back.”
OPM previously said workers would receive back pay
A reinterpretation of the law would violate this Instructions The Office of Personnel Management issued a release in overdue September stating that “after the expiration period of funds has expired, employees who were furloughed as a result of the default will retroactively receive compensation for those furlough periods.”
During the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term, Congress agreed an invoice entitled the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which guaranteed back pay to both exempt and furloughed federal employees. Trump signed the law himself.
Before the law was passed, Congress typically voted to guarantee all federal employees back pay after each funding expiration.
The Congressional Budget Office projected 750,000 federal employees would be furloughed in the current shutdown.
Democrats on Capitol Hill rejected the memo on Tuesday, saying it was another example of Trump trying to circumvent the law.
“The language of the law is as clear as can be: Federal employees, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their back pay following a shutdown,” Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote on social media. “Another baseless attempt to intimidate and intimidate workers by a government run by crooks and cowards.”
Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who represents a significant number of federal workers, said in a brief interview he didn’t think lawmakers needed to clarify the law in any way, calling it “crystal clear.”
“This is a bill that (former) Senator (Ben) Cardin and I introduced during the shutdown,” Van Hollen said. “And I watched it again today after the White House comments, and they’re blowing smoke. This is part of their effort to scare. So this is all part of their fear-mongering. That’s what it’s about.”
“That should increase the urgency”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., asked about the memo during a morning news conference and said he had not seen it or spoken to anyone at the White House, but he did not appear to object to the change of course.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about this. But there are legal analysts who think this is not something the government should do,” Johnson said. “If that is true, that should illustrate the urgency and need for Democrats to do the right thing here.”
Pressed by another reporter on the principle of potentially not following the law, Johnson said he hopes furloughed federal workers get their pay back.
“I can tell you the president believes that too. He and I have talked about it personally. He doesn’t want people to go without back pay,” Johnson said. “And that’s why he pleaded with Chuck Schumer to do the right thing and vote to keep the government open. We don’t want that to happen.”
Johnson did not explain why — if Trump believes furloughed workers should receive back pay in accordance with the 2019 law — the White House budget office produced a memo claiming the opposite.
Johnson’s official website of the House of Representatives explains that during a shutdown, “federal employees are either furloughed or, in some cases, forced to work without pay. Under federal law, employees are entitled to a refund of their salaries when the government reopens.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said during an afternoon news conference that he expects furloughed workers to get their pay back once the shutdown ends.
“I haven’t looked at the memo closely yet. My assumption is that furloughed employees will get their pay back,” Thune said. “But other than that, it’s quite simple – open the government and it won’t be an issue.”
The Senate got stuck five times on a stopgap bill for government funding that the House of Representatives passed in mid-September. The upper house is expected to vote at least once again this week.
Democrats demand negotiations over a shutdown
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a morning speech that Johnson had “become a massive obstacle to progress” but did not address the possibility that furloughed workers would not receive back pay.
“To end this shutdown, Donald Trump must intervene and pressure Speaker Johnson to negotiate, because without the President’s involvement, Speaker Johnson and MAGA Republicans will be increasingly constrained in the House,” Schumer said.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said during a morning news conference that the White House was wrong in its fresh interpretation.
“The law is clear – every single furloughed employee is entitled to reimbursement. Period. Period,” Jeffries said. “The law is clear and we will ensure that this law is followed.”
American Federation of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley wrote in a statement: “The frivolous argument that federal employees are not guaranteed back pay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act is a blatant misinterpretation of the law.”
“It also runs counter to the Trump administration’s guidance from just a few days ago, which clearly and correctly states that furloughed employees will receive retroactive pay for the time they were unemployed as soon as possible after the shutdown ends.”
Shauneen Miranda and Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.
