Senate approves resolution to withhold senators’ pay during future govt. shutdowns
OAN Staff Lillian Mann and Brooke Mallory
2:22 PM – Thursday, May 14, 2026
The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution on Thursday sponsored by Louisiana GOP Senator John Kennedy that mandates a freeze on senators’ pay during any future government shutdowns.
By making federal closures financially uncomfortable for lawmakers, the bipartisan measure aims to create a more urgent incentive for Congress to pass funding bills before critical deadlines.
This agreement follows a period of increasingly frequent and record-long shutdowns, reflecting a growing consensus that legislators should face tangible consequences when they fail to fulfill their core responsibility of funding the government.
The resolution was passed via a voice vote and is scheduled to take effect immediately following the general election on November 3, 2026. Because of this specific implementation timeline, the new rules could be enforced during potential funding lapses at the end of the calendar year, though they would not apply to any shutdown occurring before the current fiscal year expires on September 30th.
Under the terms of the resolution, the secretary of the Senate is tasked with retaining senators’ salaries for the duration of any shutdown affecting one or more federal agencies, with the funds being released only after government funding is fully restored.
This mechanism ensures that senators do not permanently forfeit their pay, but rather experience a mandatory deferral of their income as long as the lapse continues. Kennedy (R-La.) emphasized to reporters that the primary goal of the measure is to establish a sense of “shared sacrifice” during fiscal stalemates.
While acknowledging that the proposal is a compromise that falls short of his ultimate legislative goals, Kennedy described it as a positive step toward accountability. When questioned about why the resolution does not apply to the House of Representatives, he maintained a strict adherence to chamber protocol, noting that “the House’s business is the House’s business.”
Kennedy also added that he had pushed for the resolution to be effective immediately, since he’s “very concerned that my Senate colleagues on the Democratic side are going to try to shut down government yet again right before the elections to try to create chaos to affect the midterm elections.”
“Shutting down government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences … This is about putting our money where our mouth is,” he continued.
Over the past year, the federal landscape has been damaged by two shutdowns that inflicted financial hardship on tens of thousands of federal employees, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bearing the heaviest burden.
The DHS only recently resumed full operations last month following a grueling 76-day partial shutdown, officially the longest funding gap for a single agency in U.S. history. This lapse occurred on the heels of a 43-day total government closure earlier in the cycle, which set the record for the longest comprehensive federal shutdown ever documented.
Since the Constitution protects the compensation of lawmakers, members of Congress continued to receive their salaries during these periods, even as rank-and-file federal workers missed consecutive paychecks. This disparity fueled major political friction, particularly during the full government shutdown that began in October.
In response to the public outcry, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) proposed a constitutional amendment that would require lawmakers to forfeit their pay entirely whenever the government is closed, seeking a permanent and more severe remedy than the current pay-withholding resolution.
“If members of Congress had to forfeit their pay during government shutdowns, there would be fewer shutdowns and they would end quicker,” Graham said at the time.
Senator Rodger Marshall (R-Kan.) offered his strong endorsement of the proposal, describing it as a strategic mechanism to exert necessary pressure on lawmakers.
“I think anything we can do to put pressure on senators in this case to come to the table and make a deal is a good thing … We’ve seen the Democrats weaponize the situation where they withhold votes to support funding the government. I think it’s one more tool in the toolbox,” Marshall stated.
During the press briefing, Kennedy also addressed the escalating legislative friction between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Speaking with reporters, the Louisiana Republican characterized the current inter-chamber relationship as increasingly strained, noting that the procedural gridlock has slowed the progress of several spending bills.
“There’s a very strong undercurrent of animosity among some of my friends in the House,” Kennedy said. “It’s quickly becoming like two kids fighting in the back of a minivan.”
The base annual salary for a rank-and-file U.S. senator remains $174,000, a figure that has been frozen for over a decade. Those serving in leadership positions receive higher compensation to account for their additional responsibilities, with the Senate Majority and Minority leaders each earning $193,400 per year.
Despite these standardized government wages, the personal financial standing of many lawmakers far exceeds their official paychecks. Many members of the Senate maintain significant independent wealth through diverse investment portfolios, real estate holdings, and prior professional ventures.
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