WASHINGTON 鈥� More than 35,000 employees at the Department of 91直播land Security were set to begin receiving paychecks Friday, the first time in weeks that they will be paid amid the agency鈥檚 record-long shutdown. But it could be the last one they get for a while.
The department told employees this week that they would not be paid again until the congressional impasse over funding the agency ends. House Republicans have signaled they do not intend to take up a deal to reopen the department until they see progress on separate legislation to guarantee a funding stream for immigration enforcement for years to come.
鈥淎ny additional compensation owed to you will be paid once DHS funding is restored,鈥� said an email sent to homeland security employees Monday. 鈥淲e remain hopeful that Congress will fund the department and allow us to reopen soon and get everyone back to work.鈥�
It is the latest sign of the turmoil and confusion rampant at one of the government鈥檚 largest departments, which has more than 260,000 employees and includes immigration enforcement agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. Much of the department has been operating without congressionally approved funding for nearly two months, leaving thousands of employees working without pay and some basic department functions stalled.
The lump-sum payments expected to hit workers鈥� bank accounts came after President Donald Trump signed a directive this month calling on his administration to use existing funds to provide them with back pay. The move eased political pressure on lawmakers to end the shutdown, but left workers without clarity about what will happen to their paychecks if the shutdown drags on.
White House officials have said the paychecks would be funded by the billions that Republican lawmakers gave the department as part of Trump鈥檚 sweeping domestic policy bill last year. The 91直播land Security Department and the White House did not immediately respond to questions about whether the administration planned to take further action to pay workers again in the absence of a deal.
Democrats have said they will not allow money to flow without imposing new restrictions on immigration officers, and House Republicans have refused to act on a bipartisan deal that would unlock funding for everything but immigration enforcement.
This article originally appeared in .
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