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President Donald Trump’s administration is warning Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.

The move was widely seen as a strongarm tactic to pressure lawmakers to reopen government, as party leaders remain seemingly at an impasse on day 7 of the shutdown. Democrats are conditioning their support for a short-term funding patch on extending the health subsidies that lessen the cost of plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

After the longest government shutdown in 2019, Trump signed legislation into law that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund government.

The president during an Oval Office meeting Tuesday suggested he’ll “ follow the law ” on back pay for federal workers, minutes after saying the compensation “ depends on who we’re talking about ” and that some workers would be taken care of “in a different way.”

The Latest:

Seeking more immigration barriers, Noem waives environmental protections in New Mexico

The Trump administration is waiving a long list of environmental protections and regulations as it seeks to expand barriers to immigration along the southwest U.S. border in New Mexico.

In a notice to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security is invoking an “acute and immediate need to construct additional physical barriers and roads” in a remote area of the state near the border with Mexico.

The directive from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem describes the area west of El Paso, Texas, as a traditional place of high illegal entry to the U.S. Noem is suspending federal regulations there aimed at protecting endangered species, clean water, migratory birds, sacred Native American sites and more.

Laiken Jordahl of the Center for Biological Diversity said there are fears any new construction would take a toll on wildlife populations near the remote bootheel of southwest New Mexico.

House Democrats press Trump on drug cartels he designated as terrorist groups

Several House Democrats say they want President Donald Trump to name the drug cartels he claims are in an “ armed conflict” with the U.S. government.

Five U.S. representatives released a letter Tuesday that also asks the president to explain just how he determined the cartels were designated as terrorist organizations.

The lawmakers also asked for the intelligence and the legal justifications behind the U.S. military’s four fatal strikes recently against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants in an administration memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press last week. The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S.