Trump Admin Hints Furloughed Workers May not Be Paid After Shutdown

[Anonymous]

Why did he bother to sign the 2019 bill? He encouraged Congress to pass it and then made it a law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did he bother to sign the 2019 bill? He encouraged Congress to pass it and then made it a law.

He probably forgot that part.

[Anonymous]

Just another sign the Rs are getting desperate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did he bother to sign the 2019 bill? He encouraged Congress to pass it and then made it a law.

He probably forgot that part.

Fair point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Be careful" how, OP? This is completely out of our control. We're already living without paychecks, nobody i know is putting it all on a credit card with no worries.

+1, and this is not "new" news. We already went through this in week 1 when Vought leaked that memo. They're down to re-runs at this point.

It's not a re-run if they're reporting on the administration continuing to say they won't pay federal workers this week. The New York Times also has it in their story about the shutdown today.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/us/politics/trump-administration-pain-shutdown.html

Republicans have shown time and time again that they want to inflict trauma on Federal workers. Russell Vought has said that clearly and in public. Believe them.

It's not that I don't believe them, it's that I don't think they have more of a leg than they did weeks ago. Nothing has changed about their obligation to pay or the practical reasons to pay. And nothing about it changes my behavior, since I'm already on a tight budget like everybody furloughed - so what is the "news" here?

BTW, they didn't "continue to say they won't pay federal workers" - they left the pay assurances out of furlough notices and, when asked, said they want backpay to be part of negotiations. I assume they want Dems to give up on the ACA issue but be able to say they "got something" by assuring backpay. No idea whether Dems will take the bait, but that's all it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is just an empty threat. That’s why they can just “hint”.

There are laws saying the contrary. Even the Supreme Court will reject an obvious violation of the law.

Are you sure about that? Laws don't seem to matter, even to the SC these days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just an empty threat. That’s why they can just “hint”.

There are laws saying the contrary. Even the Supreme Court will reject an obvious violation of the law.

Are you sure about that? Laws don't seem to matter, even to the SC these days

DP. The Republican party is not a monolith, and a significant part of it (certainly the richest part) wants things like contract law to exist. These are the same people who want a weak-but-functional bureaucracy. They are in tension with weirdos like Vought who want to burn it all down. It's not a foregone conclusion that SCOTUS sides with the firebrands - for example, they have been careful about preserving the Fed. Saying things like "laws don't matter" or "courts always side with Trump" is overly simplistic.

Even without the 2019 law protecting backpay, furloughed feds are owed backpay. You hired somebody at an annual salary, then you sent them home but told them to remain on standby in case they were needed in excepted status, to monitor the news in order to anticipate return to normalcy, and to continue to follow all federal ethics rules which are quite restrictive: you owe them for their availability. I don't think that's necessarily a losing argument at SCOTUS just because Vought hates feds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just an empty threat. That’s why they can just “hint”.

There are laws saying the contrary. Even the Supreme Court will reject an obvious violation of the law.

Are you sure about that? Laws don't seem to matter, even to the SC these days

Those health insurance companies need to get paid, and I don't think anyone cares about what the SC has to say about that. Trump knows how the mafia runs, and the health insurance mafia will be coming for him if he tries to stiff them the health insurance payments for 700,000 employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just an empty threat. That’s why they can just “hint”.

There are laws saying the contrary. Even the Supreme Court will reject an obvious violation of the law.

Are you sure about that? Laws don't seem to matter, even to the SC these days

+1 Signed--spouse of a RIFed federal employee who also thought this could never happen in America

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just another sign the Rs are getting desperate.

+1
They’re starting to flail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is just an empty threat. That’s why they can just “hint”.

There are laws saying the contrary. Even the Supreme Court will reject an obvious violation of the law.

Are you sure about that? Laws don't seem to matter, even to the SC these days

DP. The Republican party is not a monolith, and a significant part of it (certainly the richest part) wants things like contract law to exist. These are the same people who want a weak-but-functional bureaucracy. They are in tension with weirdos like Vought who want to burn it all down. It's not a foregone conclusion that SCOTUS sides with the firebrands - for example, they have been careful about preserving the Fed. Saying things like "laws don't matter" or "courts always side with Trump" is overly simplistic.

Even without the 2019 law protecting backpay, furloughed feds are owed backpay. You hired somebody at an annual salary, then you sent them home but told them to remain on standby in case they were needed in excepted status, to monitor the news in order to anticipate return to normalcy, and to continue to follow all federal ethics rules which are quite restrictive: you owe them for their availability. I don't think that's necessarily a losing argument at SCOTUS just because Vought hates feds.

I can see SC agreeing to not pay the federal workers, if the general sentiment is that federal workers are worthless. But I also agree that the health insurance companies that are owed premiums will not agree to not receiving them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just another sign the Rs are getting desperate.

+1
They’re starting to flail.

They are, but Republicans are mostly accountable to billionaires who won't feel the pinch, so I think this could drag on for much longer.

[Anonymous]

Vought has been saying this since day 1 of the shutdown. I doubt we will be paid. I also think this will go on until the New Year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vought has been saying this since day 1 of the shutdown. I doubt we will be paid. I also think this will go on until the New Year.

The Republican bot is here.

Of course we will get paid. It likely will happen without a court battle, because there is bipartisan interest in it, but if that’s what it takes we will get paid after our unions win in court.

[Anonymous]

Remember this episode when you vote !