The Trump administration has announced that it will freeze a pay raise for vice president Mike Pence, members of the Cabinet and other high-ranking appointees in light of the partial government shutdown.

The officials were positioned to receive a raise of about $10,000 a year – which was to go into effect this weekend – as 800,000 federal employees were entering their third week without pay.

The increases were the result of Congress’ failure to renew a long-standing freeze on raises for high-ranking officials and political appointees.

An extension of the freeze was included in the spending bills funding multiple government agencies that were not acted on before the expiration of the 115th Congress.

The Office of Personnel Management announced that “it would be prudent for agencies to continue to pay these senior political officials at the frozen rate until appropriations legislation is enacted that would clarify the status of the freeze.”

The decision came during an unexpected optics issue for the Trump administration: While correctional officers, Transportation Security Administration agents and other federal employees work without pay during the government shutdown, Mr Pence’s annual salary would have jumped to $243,500 from $230,700. Cabinet secretaries who were paid $199,700 a year would have seen their annual pay rise to $210,700.

It also came after the Washington Post reported the potential raises.

The administration appeared to be aware of the perception problem and was trying to avoid it. Asked at his news conference Friday if he would freeze the raises during the shutdown, Mr Trump said he “might consider that”.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, later explained that the administration was “exploring options to prevent this from being implemented while some federal workers are furloughed”.

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She described the situation as “another unnecessary by-product of the shutdown” that she said could be remedied by Congress.

Democratic lawmakers, who are at an impasse with Trump over his vow to not reopen the government without funding for a wall along the south west border, has put pressure on the Trump administration and criticised the potential raises.