Trump says workers affected will get pay back as government shutdown continues

The US Capitol dome. (Photo/Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said most workers affected by the government shutdown will get back pay.

"Most of them are going to get back pay," Trump told reporters on Wednesday. "But some of them are being hurt very badly by the Democrats, and they therefore won't qualify."

The US Senate earlier on Wednesday failed to advance funding bills to end a government shutdown for the sixth time.

By a vote of 54-45, the Senate did not invoke cloture on the motion to move forward on the House-passed Republican measure.

Separately, the procedural vote on the Democratic measure fell short in a 47 to 52 party-line vote.

'Intransigence'

Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson doubled down on his criticism of Senate Democrats as the federal government shutdown is on its eighth day.

Johnson argued the lower chamber had already done its job by passing a "clean" 24-page continuing resolution to extend government funding and blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for refusing to bring the measure to a vote in the Senate.

"The ball is now in the Senate's court. It does us no good to be here dithering on show votes. We did it. We sent the product over. ... It's the most bare minimum that's necessary to keep the lights on for the people, and Chuck Schumer and 43 of his colleagues, Democrats, continue to do the wrong thing," he added.

Schumer slammed Republican "intransigence" for the shutdown.

"It's now been a full week, a whole week, of Donald Trump's government shutdown, and the country is feeling the sting of Republican intransigence," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

More than 700,000 federal employees have been furloughed, and services are being disrupted, Schumer said, urging Republicans to join Democrats in a "serious negotiation" to reopen the government.

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Source: TRT