WASHINGTON – former โPresident Donald Trump statedโข Tuesday that some federal employees impacted by the ongoing government shutdown “don’t deserve too be taken care of,” escalating rhetoric as the partial government โclosure entered itsโ second week and โคnegotiations remain โคstalled.
the comments โคcame as Democratsโค accuse the Trump administration of attemptingโ to leverage the shutdown to weaken the โคcivil โservice and gain negotiatingโ leverage. House โขDemocratic Leader Hakeem Jeffriesโค asserted, “The law is clear-every single โคfurloughedโ federal employee is entitled to back pay period, โขfullโข stop,” โคand vowed to โคensure compliance.
Approximately 750,000 federal employees are currently โfurloughed, with mannyโฃ others โworking without pay.โ The shutdown stems from a disagreement over spending priorities, specifically Democrats’โ insistence onโค including an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies in any funding bill – a demand Republicans have thus far rejected. Both the House and Senate failed to pass competing short-term funding measures onโ monday, and no further votes are currently scheduled.
trump and Vice President J.D. โVance have reportedly threatened mass layoffs at federal agencies characterized as “Democrat strongholds,” though no firings have โคbeen โคannounced. When questioned about potential job cuts, Trump stated, “I’ll be able โto tell you that in four or five days if this โkeeps going โขon.” He added, “If this keeps going on, it’ll be โample. and a lot of those jobs will never come back.But you’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget actually.”
Senate Majority Leader โjohn Thune indicated that back payโค is “aโค fairly standard practice” and expressedโ unfamiliarity with arguments against it, stating, “My understanding is, yes, that they โwould โฃget โขpaid.” The Office โคof Management โคand Budget has not publicly clarified its position on back pay for โคfurloughed employees.
