Trump’s threats to withhold back pay add to public servants’ anxiety

Sidelined by political appointees, targeted over deep state conspiracies and derided by the president, career public servants have grown used to life in Washington under a constant state of assault.

- By MIcHAEL WILNER

But President Trump’s latest threat, to withhold back pay due to workers furloughed by an ongoing government shutdown, is adding fresh uncertainty to the beleaguered workforce.

Whether federal workers will ultimately receive retroactive paychecks after the government reopens, Trump told reporters on Tuesday, “really depends on who you're talking about.” The law requires federal employees receive their expected compensation in the event of a shutdown.

“For the most part, we're going to take care of our people,” the president said, while adding: “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them ina different way.”

It is yet another peril facing public servants, who, according to Trump's Office of Management and Budget director, Russell Vought, may also be the target of mass layoffs if the shutdown continues.

The government has been shut since Oct. 1, when Republican and Democratic lawmakers came to an impasse over whether to extend government funding at existinglevels, oraccount for a significant increase in healthcare premiums facing millions of Americans at the start ofnext year.