Some members of Congress are actually refusing their paychecks as the federal government shutdown grinds into nearly a week of chaos.
Fox News reported that as the stalemate drags on, more lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are either rejecting their salaries or pledging to donate them, a symbolic gesture amid a funding fight that has left federal workers in the lurch.
The shutdown kicked off almost a week ago when Congress couldn’t hammer out a deal to keep the government running. Senate Democrats repeatedly shot down Republican proposals to fund agencies through late November, leaving the nation in a budgetary limbo.
It’s the kind of gridlock that makes you wonder if anyone in Washington remembers how to compromise.
Now, in a move that’s raising eyebrows, several Republican representatives—like Chip Roy of Texas, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania—have formally asked the House’s Chief Administrative Officer to withhold their pay during this mess.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats like Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Lou Correa of California are joining the fray, requesting their salaries be held back, too. While it’s refreshing to see bipartisanship on something, let’s not pretend this fixes the underlying dysfunction in Congress.
Here’s the catch: federal law, straight out of Article I of the Constitution, mandates that lawmakers get paid no matter what, with compensation drawn directly from the U.S. Treasury.
The 27th Amendment adds another layer, ensuring no pay changes can kick in until after the next election cycle. So, while these gestures grab headlines, they’re more theater than true financial hardship.
Speaking of theater, a source familiar with the process told Fox News Digital that even if lawmakers opt to skip their pay now, they’ll still get it as back pay once the government reopens.
Most of these folks earn a cool $174,000 a year—a figure frozen since 2009—while leadership rakes in even more. Hard to shed too many tears when the money’s just delayed, not denied.
Contrast that with congressional staffers, who automatically miss paychecks if their pay period falls during the shutdown. They, too, get back pay eventually, but the immediate hit to their wallets stings more than it does for their well-compensated bosses. It’s a stark reminder of who really bears the brunt of these political games.
Some lawmakers are taking a different tack, opting to donate their salaries rather than just defer them. Senators like Ashley Moody of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have pledged to give their shutdown earnings to charity. It’s a noble move, though one can’t help but wonder if it’s also a savvy PR play in a deeply cynical town.
Sen. Ashley Moody, in a statement last week, declared, “Each day the government remains closed, I will be donating my salary to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.”
She added that the center aids vulnerable folks hit hard by this “reckless choice.” While her heart seems in the right place, let’s not kid ourselves—donating pay doesn’t reopen the government or solve the partisan logjam.
Then there’s Rep. Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the Committee for House Administration, who told Bloomberg Government, “It’s an administrative way of withholding pay.” Nice spin, but it’s still just optics when the Constitution guarantees that paycheck will eventually land in their accounts. If only the same creativity went into passing a budget.
This shutdown isn’t just about lawmakers’ salaries—it’s a symptom of a deeper inability to govern effectively. When both parties dig in their heels, refusing to budge on funding plans, it’s the American people who pay the real price. Federal workers go without pay, services grind to a halt, and trust in our institutions takes another hit.
Let’s give credit where it’s due: lawmakers forgoing or donating their pay sends a message that they’re not entirely tone-deaf to the public’s frustration. But symbols don’t fund agencies or get folks back to work. It’s a Band-Aid on a broken system that needs a complete overhaul, not just feel-good photo ops.
The conservative instinct here is to applaud personal responsibility—lawmakers shouldn’t profit while the government they’re supposed to run is shuttered.
Yet, there’s also a nagging sense that this distracts from the real issue: Congress’s failure to prioritize the nation over partisan point-scoring. If only they fought this hard against wasteful spending or overreaching policies.
