U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 7, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | ReutersPresident Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that some federal workers who have been furloughed during the government shutdown will not receive back pay after they return to work.The remark came hours after the circulation of a draft White House memo arguing that federal employees placed on unpaid leave are not guaranteed back pay.The memo, first reported by Axios and confirmed to NBC News by the White House, appears to clash with the Trump administration's own recent guidance.
The U.S.
Office of Personnel Management, in a shutdown guidance sheet issued last month, stated definitively that furloughed workers would be paid retroactively once the funding lapse ends.A federal law, which Trump signed after the last government shutdown in 2019, additionally says that furloughed U.S.
government employees "shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appriations."A White House official told Axios that the administration's view is that that law does not automatically cover furloughed employees' back pay, and that Congress must specifically appriate those funds.Trump, when asked at the White House on Tuesday afternoon back pay for those workers, said, "I would say it depends on who we're talking ."The Democrats — whom Trump and Republicans blame for the shutdown that is now on Day 7 — "have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy," the president said in the Oval Office alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney."But it really depends on who you're talking ," he said.
"For the most part, we're going to take care of our people."Read more CNBC government shutdown coverageTrump suggests not all furloughed workers will get back pay: ‘It depends’Republicans face pressure to consider Democrats' health care demands as shutdown drags onFunding bill falls short again in Senate, extending government shutdownThe shutdown meant no jobs report.
Carlyle's analysis shows it would have been pretty badMissing this pay date may be too much for Trump and Congress to long shutdownThe shutdown meant no jobs report.
Here's what it would have said the economyDemocratic leader Jeffries challenges GOP House Speaker Johnson to debate shutdown'There will start to be layoffs' if Trump decides shutdown talks have stalled, Hassett saysTrump could 'start taking sharp measures' if next government funding bills fail: HassettAffordable Care Act premiums will rise 114% in 2026 if subsidies expire: KFFTrump admin freezes $2.1 billion for Chicago jects, blames Democrats for shutdown holdupShutdown fallout: Energy Dept.
axes billions for green jects in blue statesTrump administration cancels nearly $8 billion in climate funding to blue states: VoughtGovernment shutdown : Stalemate to last at least three daysTrump touts shutdown as 'unprecedented opportunity' to cut more Democratic prioritiesGovernment shutdown fight hinges on ACA tax credits — and if some immigrants should getTrump 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."When asked why he said some workers should not get their back pay, he said, "Ask the Democrats that question."The administration's signaling workers' back pay has been widely viewed as an attempt to ratchet up pressure on Senate Democrats to vote for Republicans' posal for a stopgap bill that will resume government funding at current levels until late November.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."Democrats have brushed off those threats, arguing that the administration has already been trying to slash the size of the federal workforce since Trump took office again in January.They want any short-term resolution to include an extension of enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at year's end.
Republicans, who hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate, need at least seven more votes to overcome the chamber's filibuster.Read more CNBC coverage'There will start to be layoffs' if Trump decides shutdown talks have stalled, Hassett saysTreasury weighs minting $1 coin with Trump's face for U.S.
250th anniversaryGovernment shutdown: Senate funding measures fail again as deadlock continuesWatch: Trump details plan to end Israel war with Hamas in GazaDemocrats refuse to cave on health care before Trump government shutdown meetingTrump bashes Zohran Mamdani after Eric Adams drops out of New York mayor's raceTrump 'Truths' tariffs on films and furniture raise questions on detailsTrump threatens mass firings if shutdown isn't averted: NBC NewsRepublicans say Obamacare tax credit fight can wait until after shutdown avertedJD Vance on Tiktok: U.S.
'successfully separated' TikTok from China's ByteDanceEric Adams drops out of New York City mayoral racePresident Trump posts cartoon image depicting him firing Fed Chief PowellThe administration's scrutiny back pay mpted a fiery response from the American Federation of Government Employees, a major federal workers' union."The frivolous argument that federal employees are not guaranteed backpay under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act is an obvious misinterpretation of the law," AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a statement."It is also inconsistent with the Trump administration's own guidance from mere days ago, which ly and correctly states that furloughed employees will receive retroactive pay for the time they were out of work as quickly as possible once the shutdown is over," he said."As we've said before, the lihoods of the patriotic Americans serving their country in the federal government are not bargaining chips in a political game," Kelley said.
"It's long past time for these attacks on federal employees to stop and for Congress to come together, resolve their differences, and end this shutdown."