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

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.

Many will miss their first full paychecks on Friday, while others will feel the loss early next week, depending on their agency.

But lawmakers on Capitol Hill will still collect their 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.

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a GOP-led bill to pay workers who are deemed essential during the shutdown. Many Democrats have said they want to pass a bill that also pays furloughed federal employees, though Republicans on Thursday rejected their alternatives. But some Republicans and Democrats have expressed optimism that there could be a bipartisan deal on a compromise measure.

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 Patel, 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.

And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is temporarily recalling roughly 3,000 furloughed employees amid open enrollment for Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, starting Monday. They will be paid for the time they are working.

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 last week 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.