Federal Agencies Told Not to Enact Raises for Pence and Others During Shutdown

Federal agencies have been instructed to hold off on instituting pay raises for Trump administration officials during a partial government shutdown that has left some 800,000 federal employees without pay, according to the Associated Press. The directive was issued Friday by Margaret Weichert, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, who wrote the office “believes it would be prudent for agencies to continue to pay these senior political officials at the frozen rate until appropriations legislation is enacted that would clarify the status of the freeze.” The raises stem from a pay freeze for federal officials, among them the vice president and cabinet secretaries, which was poised to expire as a result of the shutdown. President Trump has refused to reopen the government unless Congress agrees to a budget that would include funding for a wall along the southern border.