White House Orders Furloughed Workers To Return To Work Thursday

The White House is ordering federal employees back to work Thursday, as the government reopens following a historic shutdown that furloughed about 600,000 federal employees, shuttered offices and froze billions in salaries and payments. 

The directive comes after President Donald Trump signed a funding bill into law late Wednesday that ends the longest government shutdown in US history.

“Therefore, agencies should take all necessary steps to ensure that offices open in a prompt and orderly manner on November 13, 2025,” The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a memo Wednesday. “Employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations should be directed to return to work on November 13.”

Many agency shutdown plans, published immediately before the shutdown began, anticipated giving employees additional flexibility in returning to work. Managers were told to allow liberal use of accrued leave and comp time — or even allow telework days that the Trump administration has sought to discourage.