By Jana Winter and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is telling some federal law enforcement personnel, including Border Patrol agents and customs officers, that they will be paid during the government shutdown, according to internal correspondence seen by Reuters.
The messages to some employees of U.S. Customs and Border Protection follow announcements from Trump’s administration that it will provide pay to military troops and FBI agents, even as hundreds of thousands of other federal employees go without pay during the shutdown, which started on October 1.
It was not clear what funding CBP would use to provide their pay.
CBP and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CBP officials told union representatives on Wednesday afternoon that some of the department’s employees would be reclassified as “exempt,” which would allow them to receive paychecks. The agency’s published shutdown plan specifies that they would not be paid, even though they would still be required to work.
“The following positions have been declared exempt: Air and Marine Agents, Border Patrol Agents and CBP Officers, as determined by management,” CBP officials told union representatives in an email reviewed by Reuters.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents customs officers, also told its members they would start getting paid.
Separately, the Transportation Security Administration, which is also overseen by the DHS, informed its federal air marshals that they will start getting paid for working the shutdown, according to internal agency emails reviewed by Reuters.
TSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jana Winter and Ted Hesson; editing by Andy Sullivan and Nia Williams)
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