Tag: Margaret Weichert

Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced late Friday night that it would freeze a pay raise for Vice President Mike Pence, members of the cabinet and other high-ranking political appointees in light of the partial government shutdown. The high-level officials were positioned to receive a raise of about $10,000 a year — which was to go into effect on Saturday — as 800,000 federal employees were entering their third week without pay. But on Friday night, the Office of Personnel Management announced that “it would be prudent for agencies to continue to pay these senior political officials at the frozen rate until appropriations legislation is enacted that would clarify the status of the freeze.” The decision came during an unexpected optics issue for the Trump administration: While correctional officers, Transportation Security Administration agents and other federal employees work without pay during the government shutdown, Mr. Pence’s annual salary would have jumped to $243,500 from $230,700. The administration appeared to be aware of the perception problem and was trying to avoid it. Democratic lawmakers, who are at an impasse with Mr. Trump over his vow to not reopen the government without funding for a wall along the southwest border, earlier on Friday put pressure on the Trump administration, criticizing the potential raises. Representative David E. Price of North Carolina described increasing the salaries of high-ranking officials during a shutdown as “astounding and the height of hypocrisy.” Representative Nita M. Lowey of New York said that the bill passed by the House on Thursday to reopen the government would also block what she described as “lavish raises.” That bill, however, is viewed as a nonstarter in the Republican-controlled Senate. The Government Accountability Office had also received questions about whether the raises could move forward, but responded that the issue was, so far, an unresolved legal question, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The salary increases would have come as the leaders of some of the unions representing federal workers criticized Mr. Trump for what they say is a lack of empathy for the financial problems facing federal employees who have not been paid during the shutdown. Under the provision, high-ranking officials would have their pay rates frozen, even though the federal schedule of pay raises would increase. Last March, Republicans tried to end the freeze, but Democrats succeeded in their efforts to keep it.