People attend a rally to protest against government shutdown outside a federal government building in New York, the United States, Jan. 15, 2019. Dozens of federal employees and their representatives as well as activists gathered here on Tuesday to protest against the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is now the longest government closure in U.S. history. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that it was recalling the furloughed employees back to work next week with pay despite a partial government shutdown.
"The Department expects to be able to resume most personnel operations and fund most salaries," said Bill Todd, the department's deputy under secretary for management, in a statement posted on its website.
According to the statement, most employees will resume work on Tuesday.
"The Department is taking steps to make additional funds available to pay employee salaries," Todd said in the statement without specifying where the money came from.
"As a national security agency, it is imperative that the Department of State carries out its mission," the senior diplomat said.
"We are best positioned to do so with fully staffed embassies, consulates, and domestic offices," he added.
The record-long partial U.S. government shutdown stretches into its 27th day Thursday, with about 800,000 federal workers not receiving their paychecks.
The White House and Democratic congressional leaders have held several rounds of negotiations over border security and wall funding, the sticking point in the shutdown, but appeared to get no closer to solving the budget impasse.
