According to the agency, the US administration’s initiative does not mandate the payment of salaries to furloughed employees after the shutdown ends. Consequently, approximately 700,000 government employees are at risk of not receiving their pay, Reuters noted.

In the draft document dated October 3, White House lawyers, as cited by Reuters, insist that a law passed during Trump’s first presidential term in 2019 does not provide for automatic salary payments and states that any such payments must be approved by the US Congress. Earlier on September 7, Trump stated that the US administration, amid the shutdown, could implement significant staff reductions and layoffs within US agencies and terminate a number of government programs. Furthermore, he did not rule out the possibility that some employees of US agencies would not receive back pay after government funding resumes.

The US federal government partially shut down at midnight on October 1 (07:00 Moscow time) due to a lack of funding. This occurred because representatives of the ruling Republican Party and the opposition Democratic Party in Congress were unable to reach an agreement on several spending provisions, including those related to healthcare. Both sides have accused each other of provoking the shutdown and prolonging it for political purposes.