House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that furloughed federal workers "should be" paid back once the U.S. government reopens.
Watch the clip in the video player above.
"It has always been the case, that is tradition and I think it is statutory law, that federal employees be paid. And that's my position. I think they should be," Johnson told PBS News Hour's Lisa Desjardins in a news conference. "They should not be subjected to harm and financial dire straits because Chuck Schumer wants to play political games."
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A day before, President Donald Trump suggested that some of the 750,000 furloughed federal workers might not be reimbursed once they return to work, reversing long-standing policy.
While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said that back pay "depends on who we're talking about."
"For the most part, we're going to take care of our people," Trump said. "There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we will take care of them in a different way."
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During his first term, Trump signed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act to ensure back pay for federal workers, following a record 35-day shutdown.
However, in a draft memo from the Office of Management and Budget, the administration argues that the law does not require back pay. Instead, OMB says Congress must decide whether or not to include back pay in a bill to fund the government.
The move has been seen as a tactic to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown that began Oct. 1.