As funding disruptions enter their eighth day, the Trump administration is exacerbating the consequences of the ongoing government shutdown. No sign of an end soon.

Now, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed a plan reviewed by Fox News Digital that would not guarantee federal workers currently furloughed by the shutdown would receive back pay, reversing a 2019 law enacted by the first Trump administration 35 days into the shutdown.

The threat that furloughed workers will not receive back pay raises the risk that Congress will fail to pass a funding measure every day and puts more pressure on Democrats as president. Donald Trump Continue to accuse them of creating the crisis.

The government shutdown has strategists debating: Will Trump and the Republican Party pay a political price in 2026?

On October 7, 2025, President Donald Trump told reporters during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that it was the Democrats who initiated the government shutdown. (Anna Chanmemaker/Getty Images)

Trump told reporters during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday that Democrats were the ones who started shutting down the government, although Democrats blamed Republicans who control the House and Senate.

“This is like a kamikaze attack. They have nothing to lose,” Trump said of Democrats, referring to suicide missions by Japanese pilots during World War II.

Additionally, when asked whether furloughed workers would be compensated when the shutdown ends, Trump said it “depends on who we’re talking about.”

“Democrats are putting a lot of people at great risk and danger, but it really depends on who you’re talking about,” Trump said. “But for the most part, we’re going to take care of our employees. There are some people who really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’re going to take care of them in a different way.”

possibility Furloughed workers not receiving back payThe news, first reported by Axios, comes as the Trump administration moves to cut the federal government. For example, OMB in September directed agencies to develop plans to reduce troop levels in the event of a government shutdown.

The move is a departure from the status quo, as furloughed employees typically return to work once government shutdowns end.

Here’s what Trump wants to do to reshape the federal government during the shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump interviews the media after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 5, 2025 (Tassos Katopodis/Getty Images)

But Trump said permanent layoffs would occur in the coming days and “a lot of these jobs will never come back.”

“We’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate a lot of things,” Trump said Tuesday.

On October 1, Senate Republicans and Democrats reached an impasse over a short-term funding bill aimed at keeping the government open until November 21, and the government entered a partial shutdown. The House of Representatives had previously passed a temporary spending bill in September.

On September 30, three Senate Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the temporary funding bill, but the bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass.

Trump and Republicans claim that Democrats want to provide health care for illegal immigrants because of a provision that would repeal part of Trump’s Tax and Domestic Policy Act, dubbed the “Big and Beautiful Act,” that reduced Medicaid eligibility for non-U.S. citizens.

Even so, Democrats have pushed back against those claims and said they want to permanently extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.

Government shuts down after deadlock over congressional spending deal

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) (R) provide an update to reporters following a face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the looming government financing crisis at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/j. Scott AppleWhite)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of not taking the shutdown seriously and “refuse to address the health care crisis they created.”

“The time has come to get this done,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday.

The White House said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that every shutdown has consequences and that Democrats “simply” voted to reopen the government.

“Whether it’s our brave unpaid military personnel, business owners missing out on previously promised contract work, or families facing flight delays, everyone is paying the price of Democrats’ aggressive demands,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.

Senate is Ready to vote again Wednesday’s temporary spending bill.

Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.