Here’s who gets paid — and who doesn’t — during a federal government shutdown

By Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — Federal workers are bearing the brunt of the government shutdown, with more than 1 million of them going unpaid while Democrats and Republicans in Congress argue over funding federal agencies for the current fiscal year.

But those lawmakers on Capitol Hill aren’t missing any paychecks during the impasse, which began October 1, with no end in sight. They continue to receive their salaries, as directed by the Constitution – although some have said they wouldn’t accept their pay or will donate the money.

Shutdowns typically fall unevenly on those who work for the federal government. And this time, President Donald Trump is taking additional steps to shield — at least temporarily — certain employees and the military from the financial pain, even as he threatens that hundreds of thousands of other staffers may never receive the back pay guaranteed to them under a 2019 law that he signed.

Now, Senate GOP leaders will put to a vote a bill that would pay certain essential workers during the shutdown, though Democrats don’t seem inclined to support the measure unless it applies to all federal staffers who aren’t being paid during the impasse. Some GOP lawmakers are also questioning the effort, saying it would remove one of the main pressure points that could help end the shutdown.

With many federal workers living paycheck to paycheck, missing even one can be financially devastating. Scores of federal employees have written to CNN about the economic toll the shutdown is taking on them and their families, leaving them at risk of losing their homes or cars or making it difficult for them to feed and provide for their families.

Here’s who gets paid

In addition to lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and federal judges will still receive their paychecks, thanks to the Constitution. So will political appointees who are confirmed by the Senate, along with certain other appointees.

Also, roughly 830,000 federal workers are continuing to be paid during the impasse, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center review of shutdown contingency plans filed by agencies. That’s because their compensation doesn’t rely on annual appropriations from Congress. Instead, they are paid through other spending packages, such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or the Inflation Reduction Act, through fees or through other resources.

Only days before the roughly 2 million active-duty and reserve members of the military were set to miss their first paychecks, the Trump administration announced it would use about $8 billion in Pentagon research and development funds to cover the October 15 payroll. But there isn’t enough money for the next distribution at the end of the month.

In addition, the Trump administration has moved to pay Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents, according to Kash Pael, the agency’s director. Plus, 70,000 law enforcement personnel in the Department of Homeland Security, including in Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Secret Service and other divisions will receive their paychecks, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X.

Here’s who doesn’t get paid

Roughly 730,000 federal employees are working without pay, while another roughly 670,000 have been furloughed, according to the latest estimate from the Bipartisan Policy Center. However, agencies have made changes as the shutdown drags on. For instance, the Internal Revenue Service originally said it would use the Inflation Reduction Act to keep paying all of its roughly 74,300 employees but a week later decided to furlough nearly half its workforce.

Senate staffers learned Friday that they will not receive their October 20 paychecks and won’t be paid for the remainder of the shutdown, while the judicial branch announced that it has run out of funding to sustain full operations. Essential staff will stay on the job, working without pay, while other court employees will be furloughed.

In the past, federal workers typically received back pay when impasses ended, but Congress made it official in 2019. However, the White House budget office is considering a new interpretation of that law, arguing it doesn’t cover furloughed employees.

Many federal contractors, including those who handle security, clean offices and staff the cafes in federal buildings, are also laid off during shutdowns. But unlike federal workers, they have no guarantee of being made whole at the end of the impasse.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.