Trump’s Shutdown Back Pay Threat Irks Republican Lawmakers (1)

Senate Republicans pushed back on a White House assertion that some federal workers may not receive back pay when the government shutdown ends, a move sure to launch more lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Congress settled the issue when it enacted a law (Public Law 116-1) requiring that all federal employees receive back pay after government shutdowns end. That conflicts with a new stance by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has argued the back pay isn’t automatic for workers who are furloughed.

“Congress settled that issue in the 2019 law,” Collins ...