Dissension in the ranks: Some, but not all, federal law enforcement employees are getting paychecks this week

The gun and badge of an FBI agent as he stands in the entertainment district Beale Street, in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on October 16, 2025. Karen Pulfer Focht/Reuters/File

The Trump administration’s move to issue paychecks this week to some but not all federal law enforcement employees during the government shutdown is sowing division in the ranks and does little to resolve the harm being done to ongoing investigations, current and former law enforcement officials tell CNN.

Under special accommodations from the Trump administration, agencies are providing paychecks on schedule to criminal investigative agents, including those who work for Justice Department agencies such as the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and at the US Secret Service, which is part