The government shutdown might blow past a big deadline soon

Though Tuesday marked day six of the federal shutdown, more eyes in Congress began turning to Oct. 15. That's the date when 1.3 million U.S. military service members and civilian contractors at the Department of Defense are scheduled to receive their next paychecks. If Congress doesn't resolve the standoff by then, those checks might not be issued.

"This week paychecks start getting affected for federal workers," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday afternoon at his weekly press conference. "This shutdown continues to create more and more problems."

Republicans and Democrats are bitterly feuding over restoring government funding. The crux of the disagreement rests with Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies that expire at year's end. Democratic senators are refusing to supply their votes for a short-term funding bill until Republicans strike a deal on renewing the healthcare tax credits. Republicans are dug in against holding negotiations while federal funding is cut for government agencies.

For Democrats, a commitment for future talks isn't cutting it. "Republicans, Trump, sit down, negotiate with us, address the nation's healthcare needs, and open up the government," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

So far, the White House has threatened "imminent" mass firings of federal workers, but it hasn't taken a drastic step in that direction. About 750,000 government workers are currently furloughed.

A new White House memo reportedly claimed that government employees might not be entitled to back pay, which would contravene existing law. The memo from White House lawyer Mark Paoletta was marked "pre-decisional" and "deliberative," signaling that no final decision has been made on endorsing its legal reasoning.

When asked about government employees receiving backpay, President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to leave the door open for some employees to not be entitled to their missed wages.

"I would say it depends on who we're talking about ... but for the most part we're going to take care of our people," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of and we'll take care of them in a different way."

After a 35-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, Congress in 2019 adopted a law to guarantee backpay to federal workers. The new memo from the Office of Management and Budget is a fresh escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to pressure Democrats to cave.

In recent days, OMB Director Russell Vought has canceled several infrastructure projects, mostly in Democratic states. The memo, coupled with Vought's aggressive use of his budget authority, has set off frustration in Congress.

“It would be a lot easier to resolve the situation if Russ Vought would stop talking," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire told reporters.