Sen. John Kennedy warned Tuesday that the president has no authority to determine whether furloughed federal employees receive back pay, as debate raged in Washington over how long the ongoing government shutdown will last.
Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, made it clear that the decision ultimately belongs to Congress, not the White House.
“It’s not up to the president,” he told reporters at the Capitol when asked about the Trump administration’s hesitancy to commit to back pay for furloughed workers.
“His opinion matters, but Congress has got to appropriate the money. Read the Constitution.”
GOP Sen. Kennedy was asked about the OMB memo circulating in the WH that apparently says federal workers are not necessarily entitled to backpay, and he said “it’s not up to the President. I mean, his opinion matters, but Congress has got to appropriate the money. Read the… pic.twitter.com/KCv5ZrjhX5
— Cristina Corujo (@cristina_corujo) October 7, 2025
Kennedy added that lawmakers have consistently ensured that federal workers and the military receive back pay following past shutdowns. He said he fully expects that to remain the case this time.
“We’ve always paid back pay to the military and federal workers, and Congress has already, always appropriated the money, and we will this time, in my opinion,” he said.
The remarks came after reports surfaced of a draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget suggesting furloughed federal employees might not automatically qualify for compensation once the shutdown ends.
The document reportedly takes a hardline interpretation of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which President Trump signed during a previous shutdown.
According to the memo, the law’s guarantee of back pay is contingent upon Congress passing new appropriations bills to end the funding lapse.
Asked about the memo, Kennedy said he had not read it and suggested reporters contact the White House for clarification.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina slammed the OMB memo as a “horrible message” to federal workers who have been sidelined since the government closed its doors.
“[They’re] basically hostages right now to the Democrats shutting down the government,” Tillis said, adding that the administration should avoid adding unnecessary hardship to workers caught in the middle of political gridlock.
Tillis argued that Democrats have no rational justification for rejecting a Republican-backed continuing resolution that would reopen the government.
“We’re not asking them for anything more than just funding at levels that they voted for in the past,” he said.
He also noted that many federal employees are now struggling to pay bills, some forced to borrow money to get by. “Not everybody can draw out of retirement savings,” he said.
Speaker Mike Johnson echoed calls to support workers but acknowledged the legal uncertainty surrounding back pay.
“I hope that the furloughed workers receive back pay, of course,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol.
“We have some extraordinary Americans who serve the federal government — they serve valiantly and they work hard in these various agencies doing really important work.”
Still, Johnson pointed to the OMB memo’s argument that the administration may not be legally required to pay furloughed workers for missed days.
“It is true that in previous shutdowns, many or most of them have been paid for the time that they were furloughed,” Johnson said.
“But there are some legal analysts who are saying that that may not be appropriate or necessary in terms of the law requiring that back pay be provided.”
Johnson said he had not discussed the matter with President Trump directly but made it clear that the president does not want Americans to lose their income.
“He and I have talked about this personally — he doesn’t want people to go without pay,” Johnson said.
He instead blamed Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for blocking Republican efforts to pass a temporary funding bill.
“If that is true,” Johnson said, referencing the OMB memo, “that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here.”
The Speaker also said he was open to advancing narrow legislation to ensure U.S. troops and essential air traffic controllers continue to be paid during the standoff.
“We’re monitoring that day by day, I’m certainly open to that,” Johnson said. “We’ve done it in the past. We want to make sure our troops are paid.”
He mentioned that roughly 1.3 million service members could miss their next paycheck on October 15 if the government remains closed, along with thousands of air traffic controllers who keep airports operating.
“Checks to our troops will be held up October 15 if they don’t come in here tomorrow and vote to reopen the government,” Johnson warned.
“You have to get it resolved by October 13, which is Monday, in order to process those checks.”
Some airports have already reported delays due to staffing shortages. The control tower at Hollywood Burbank Airport in California reportedly shut down temporarily because of lack of personnel.
That prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to attack President Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy online.
“Thanks @realDonaldTrump! Burbank Airport has ZERO air traffic controllers from 4:15 p.m. to 10pm today because of YOUR government shutdown,” Newsom wrote on X.
News flash!
Your Democrat friends shut down the government because they want to make Americans pay the health care for illegals. And no state has more illegals than California!
You care more about illegals than our hard-working American air traffic controllers.
If you’re… https://t.co/JMWNHUSjBW
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) October 7, 2025
Duffy fired back within hours, blaming Democrats for the impasse. “Your Democrat friends shut down the government because they want to make Americans pay the health care for illegals,” Duffy said. “And no state has more illegals than California!”
Appearing on “Fox and Friends,” Duffy defended the administration and accused Newsom of political theater.
The governor later mocked Duffy on social media, saying that despite the travel delays, the transportation secretary “has time to do Fox and Friends and complain about how a Governor hurt his feelings.”
No air traffic controllers for SIX HOURS at Burbank airport yesterday.
Massive delays. Flights cancelled.
But Sean has time to do Fox and Friends and complain about how a Governor hurt his feelings. 😢 https://t.co/0e3QuHvQuR
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 7, 2025
As the shutdown drags on, lawmakers from states with major military installations are reportedly pushing for a short-term measure to ensure troops and their families are financially protected.
Johnson referenced Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia, who has already introduced legislation to guarantee military pay.
“She’s already filed legislation to pay our troops. We’re looking forward to processing all this as soon as we gather everybody back up,” Johnson said.
