House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that furloughed federal workers “should be” paid back once the U.S. government reopens.

Watch the clip in the video player above.

“It has always been the case, that is tradition and I think it is statutory law, that federal employees be paid. And that’s my position. I think they should be,” Johnson told PBS News Hour’s Lisa Desjardins in a news conference. “They should not be subjected to harm and financial dire straits because Chuck Schumer wants to play political games.”

A day before, President Donald Trump suggested that some of the 750,000 furloughed federal workers might not be reimbursed once they return to work, reversing long-standing policy.

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