Leaked memo shows Trump plans to stiff 750k shutdown workers [View all]
Source: Raw Story
October 7, 2025 6:50AM ET
A leaked White House draft memo suggests that the Trump administration is actively considering stiffing as many as 750,000 federal workers and denying them compensation while furloughed amid the ongoing government shutdown, according to an Axios report published Tuesday.
As many as 750,000 federal workers are projected to be furloughed for every day of the shutdown – now in its seventh day – according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
While a 2019 law guarantees furloughed federal employees retroactive pay, the leaked White House draft memo – described to Axios by three insiders – reveals that the Trump administration has a different interpretation of the law that may allow furloughed federal workers to be denied backpay.
"Does this law cover all these furloughed employees automatically?” said a senior White House official, speaking with Axios on the condition of anonymity. “The conventional wisdom is: yes, it does. Our view is: no, it doesn't.” The 2019 law is known as the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act (GEFTA), and was signed into law during the previous government shutdown in 2018-19, the longest shutdown in United States’ history.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2674161155/
And then people complain about laws being hundreds or even 1000s of pages long. This law was 2 pages.
It was one of the first laws passed after Democrats retook the House in the 2018 election (after having lost it in the 2010 election).
Link to the law - S.24 - Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (introduced 1/3/19 and signed by 45 on 1/16/19 after passing the Senate by "voice vote" and passing the House 411 - 7)
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