Furloughed federal workers aren’t guaranteed compensation for their forced time off during the government shutdown, according to a draft White House memo described to Axios by three sources.
Why it matters: If the White House acts on that legal analysis, it would dramatically escalate President Trump’s pressure on Senate Democrats to end the week-old shutdown by denying back pay to as many as 750,000 federal workers after the shutdown.
Only the dumbest dictator imaginable would flex military strength while not paying them, keep them doing their jobs without pay, and then say that they will never get paid for the work they’re currently doing. A dictator should be scared shitless about the possibility of their own military warming up to the idea of regime change, especially this specific military which has a whole lot of experience carrying out regime changes.
The regime got this far because The Base is dumber than dogshit and incredibly willing to act against its own interest over and over again if it means they get to punch down on those they hate. They’re not about to get cold feet or reflect on the possibility of failure now. And to be honest, I don’t think they have a lot of reason to worry.
It’s not even that they genuinely hate these people. The media has told them who to hate and they blindly believe it.
For a party that constantly called the Democrats sheep in the mid 2010s they sure are wearing a lot of fleece.
Dictator rule 1: Pay your fucking troops or they’ll fucking overthrow you.
I imagine this is a situation where they would pay the military and ICE but try to refuse back pay for civil servants in “Democrat agencies.”
Probably what they’re thinking. Of course, this just means Dems need to demand that any funding bill that opens the government guarantees back pay for everyone. If anything, this threat gives them less of an incentive to move quickly on reopening (why help Trump avoid hurting his chosen government workers when he’s still threatening to hurt all the rest of them? Let them all get hurt together if this is the way they’re going to be).
It’s already law for backpay. Trump wants to scare people into quitting.
Sorry, you’ve seen Trump, right?
OP did say “only the dumbest dictator imaginable”
He is only dumb if he suffers any consequences. So far, he has managed to fail upwards his entire life and avoid ever experiencing any meaningful repercussions.
Nah, he’s still dumb even if he’s successful.
He certainly is. I just wonder if the criticism is not especially meaningful in this context. It often feels like we are all waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never does.
Our military is several generations deeps of mercenaries who have only been deployed against poorly equipped civilian populations on behalf of the interests of capital (and they still lost almost every single time). There is no chance any of these people stand up to Trump let alone anything more serious.
eh, the military gives troops and excuse to hurt and kill people. sadists like them don’t care about money
Never say never but I can’t see the US military ever getting involved. This is to scare workers into quitting, he wants to gut the government.
He is banking on the extremely strong taboo in the US military against interfering in politics which has been established over generations. They will of course burn through that protection at a far faster rate than it was built, but they will likely still get away with this.
Brought to you by the same group who offered backpay to military members discharged for refusing vaccination.
Someone posted this link earlier:
https://legalclarity.org/do-federal-employees-get-back-pay-after-a-shutdown/
Federal employees are legally guaranteed to receive back pay for wages lost during a government shutdown. This assurance removes the financial uncertainty that once accompanied lapses in government funding. While the process is now automatic, understanding the law that protects employees, who it covers, and the timeline for payment is helpful for any government worker facing a shutdown.
The Legal Guarantee for Back Pay
The certainty of retroactive pay is a relatively recent development. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA) mandates that federal employees receive back pay for the period of a lapse in appropriations, and it applies to all future shutdowns. Before GEFTA, Congress had to pass specific legislation after each shutdown to authorize back pay, which created anxiety for workers. The 2019 law amended Title 31 of the U.S. Code, making retroactive pay an automatic component of the process.
Covers everyone whether they were working or not, except contractors.
Congress has to pass a budget bill to reopen the government, and the President has to sign it into law. If that bill says that the workers are entitled to back pay, then they are entitled to back pay.
Illegal
But sadly our justice system is complicit
A Trump never pays his bills
So, I’m expecting a nice tax refund right?
Are you a billionaire?
I wish. It would probably make the next couple years more bearable… at least till I get eaten.
They also said they were going to lay off a bunch of people. I’m beginning to suspect this White House might have a tendency to make shit up.
This has Russel Vought written all over it.
They probably think they can get federal employees to quit as well as make Democrats look bad.
The Democratic Party better get their messaging straight on this. People need to know this is all the Republicans fault.
It’s almost as if someone is trying to dismantle most of the Federal Government in direct contravention to the Constitution and Congress.
Yes, him deciding not to pay the people he’s locked out will certainly make people this is the minority party’s fault.
Trump does love stiffing people who work for him.
Wait, I thought he was already threatening to permanently lay these workers off already? Besides the fact that it’s illegal and besides the fact that Trump doesn’t have anymore leverage in this negotiation because the governments already shutdown and he was already firing people for no reason before that even happened, how is this any kind of a new threat?
