The White House on Monday directed the Internal Revenue Service to pay tax refunds to millions of Americans during the federal shutdown, its most dramatic legal reversal to date as officials seek to blunt the political blowback of the worsening TKTKT.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to pay tax refunds in the coming weeks, administration officials say, after the White House decided Monday it was legally permissible to process tax returns during a government shutdown.

The decision, announced by White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Russell Vought, reverses past IRS policy, which had prohibited tax refunds from being paid while much of the agency’s staff was sent home during a shutdown.

But OMB determined on Monday that paying tax refunds was a permissible practice and would be allowed to proceed, according to a different senior OMB official.

OMB determined that paying tax refunds was an “indefinite appropriation,” and not something that needed annual congressional approval.

Final decisions were still being worked out, including how many people would be brought back to work at the IRS and when the tax filing season will begin. The IRS staff recalled to process tax returns will still not be paid during the government shutdown.