United States President Donald Trump may refuse to sign a funding agreement that includes any form of provision related to contractor back pay for the government shutdown, according to various media reports.
Speaking to reporters, Republican Senator Roy Blunt (pictured) said that he had been told that "the president won’t sign that," adding that, "I guess federal contractors are different in his view than federal employees." Despite the fact that the Democrat-tabled provision had significant cross-party support, Congress has generally always provided back pay to government workers but not federal contractors. Sources familiar with the matter additionally stated that such arrangements would pose a logistical headache and would greatly increase the potential for fraud.
Blunt's comments came after Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he would be "looking for landmines" before signing any funding bill. He has two days to do so and thereby avert a new government shutdown only weeks after the last one, which was the longest in US history, ended.
