President Donald Trump points to a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is holding firm on his and Senate Democrats' blockade of President Donald Trump's nominees as Senate Republican march toward a nuclear rules change. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
When asked if it was the White House’s position whether federal workers should be paid back pay, President Donald Trump said, "I would say it depends on who we're talking about."
"I can tell you this," Trump said. "The Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you're talking about. But 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."
Many lawmakers had just learned about the memo as of Tuesday afternoon. It suggested that a 2019 law signed by Trump that guaranteed back pay for furloughed workers in future shutdowns may not have to be followed.
"I just heard that," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., said. "My phones are lighting up."
When asked if the memo hurt or helped talks, she said, "It could get more urgent, it also could tick a lot of people off."
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that the memo was "probably not a good message to send right now to people who are not being paid."
"I'm not an attorney, but I think it's bad strategy to even say that sort of stuff," Tillis said. "We got a lot of hard-working people there on the sidelines now because the Democrats have put them there."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that she believed that issue had been settled with the 2019 law, but as a "back up," Congress could pass a bill that any "obligations that were incurred during the shutdown are authorized to be paid."
And Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, argued that regardless of the memo, the law said "shall."
"I left my law degree in the car, but ‘shall’ is relatively straightforward," he said. "I think it doesn't matter at all, because we're fighting for healthcare."
The latest pressure tactic on Senate Democrats comes after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed in a previous memo that mass firings could be on the horizon beyond the typical furloughs during a shutdown.
KENNEDY CLAIMS DEMOCRATS WANT MILLIONS FOR FOREIGN LGBT PROJECTS, ELECTRIC BUSES TO END SHUTDOWN
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters near his office on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
It also comes after OMB Director Russ Vought announced nearly $30 billion in federal funding was set to be withheld from blue cities and states.
Both Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wanted to see federal workers get paid, but contended that the issue would go away if Schumer and Senate Democrats reopened the government.
"My assumption is that furloughed workers will get back pay," Thune said. "But that being said, this is very simple. Open up the government and this is a non-issue. We don't have to have this conversation. Everybody gets paid when the government is open."
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Meanwhile, the previous tactics did little to nudge Democrats from their position, and so far, have not killed talks between either side.
But Sen. Jean Shaheen, D-N.H., who has been a key communicator for Senate Democrats in bipartisan talks, said that Vought’s actions weren’t helping matters.
"It would be a lot easier to resolve the situation if Russ Vought would stop talking," Shaheen said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-stalls-shutdown-vote-amid-warning-furloughed-workers-may-lose-pa