House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the Trump administration has no legal basis for refusing back pay to furloughed federal workers, vowing that Democrats will fight to ensure those payments are made.

“The law is clear: Every single furloughed federal employee is entitled to backpay. Period. Full stop,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “The law is clear, and we will make sure that that law is followed."

A day earlier, the White House Office of Budget and Management (OMB) issued a memo suggesting that the government is under no obligation to pay federal workers who are furloughed during the shutdown. That position marks a sharp departure from shutdowns of years past, when furloughed employees have received back pay. And Democrats like Jeffries say it vi

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