Such a move would be a break from the president’s first term, when he signed into law a measure guaranteeing back pay for federal workers, who often bear the financial brunt of funding lapses.
As Republicans try to pin blame for shutdown damage on Democrats, they are hailing a federal bureaucracy they normally bash as wasteful and overreaching.
Republicans, who hold a governing trifecta, have adopted a mostly passive stance while Democrats dig in for a fight, with both feeling they have the political upper hand.
Speaker Mike Johnson has canceled votes for this week, and Senator John Thune, the majority leader, has given verbal shrugs to questions about negotiating with Democrats about how to end the shutdown.
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