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President Donald Trump’s administration is warning Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.
The move was widely seen as a strongarm tactic to pressure lawmakers to reopen government, as party leaders remain seemingly at an impasse on day 7 of the shutdown. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on extending the health subsidies that lessen the cost of plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.
After the longest government shutdown in 2019, Trump signed legislation into law that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund government.
The president during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday suggested he’ll “follow the law” on back pay for federal workers, minutes after saying the compensation “depends on who we’re talking about” and that some workers would be taken care of “in a different way.”
Other news we’re following:
- Canadian prime minister: Mark Carney met with Trump in the Oval Office at a time when one of the world’s most durable and amicable alliances has been fractured by Trump’s trade war and annexation threats. The visit came ahead of a review next year of the free trade agreement, which is critical to Canada’s economy. More than 77% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S.
- Bondi’s Senate hearing: The attorney general deflected questions as she defended herself Tuesday against Democratic criticism that she had weaponized the Justice Department to pursue Trump’s perceived foes. Bondi echoed conservative claims that President Biden’s Justice Department, which brought two criminal cases against Trump and analyzed the phone records of several Republican lawmakers, was the one that weaponized the agency, even though some of its most high-profile probes concerned the Democratic president and his son.
- Israel and Hamas: Peace talks between the two groups resumed in Egypt on the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that triggered the bloody conflict that has seen tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza. The negotiations center on Trump’s proposed plan to end the war in Gaza.
