Senate withholds pay during shutdowns

The U.S. Senate on Thursday adopted a resolution to withhold senators’ pay during future government shutdowns, approving an internal rule change by unanimous consent after a 99-0 procedural vote a day earlier. The measure, S.Res. 526, was sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, and would require the Secretary of the Senate to hold senators’ pay during any shutdown and release it after funding resumes. The resolution applies only to the Senate and does not require House approval or President Donald Trump’s signature. It takes effect after the November 2026 federal election. ### What exactly did the Senate approve? S.Res. 526 says that during any period in which a government shutdown is in effect, the Secretary of the Senate shall “disburse and hold” payments otherwise due to senators for that period. The text also says those payments must be released “as soon as practicable” after the shutdown ends. Thursday’s action was the final Senate step on the resolution. (apnews.com) ABC News reported the chamber adopted it by unanimous consent, while other outlets described the action as a voice vote after Wednesday’s unanimous cloture vote. The practical effect is the same: the Senate agreed to its own rule change without recorded opposition. (congress.gov) ### Why does this not need the House or the president? The Senate resolution changes Senate procedure rather than federal law governing both chambers. ABC News and NBC News reported that the measure does not need to pass the House or be signed by the president because it governs how the Senate handles senators’ compensation during a shutdown. (abcnews.com) Congress.gov lists the measure as a Senate resolution, not a bill, and the text is framed as an instruction to the Secretary of the Senate. That structure is what allows the chamber to act on its own. ### Who pushed the measure and what did he say? Sen. John Kennedy introduced the resolution on December 3, 2025, according to Congress.gov. Kennedy’s office said he first pushed versions of the idea during shutdown fights that began in late 2025. (abcnews.com) Kennedy told senators the measure was about “shared sacrifice” and said lawmakers should have “the same skin in the game” as federal workers who miss paychecks during funding lapses. (congress.gov) AP and Kennedy’s office both described the resolution as a response to repeated shutdowns and the fact that members of Congress kept receiving pay while many federal employees did not. ### What shutdowns were lawmakers reacting to? Kennedy’s office said the federal government was in a full or partial shutdown for more than 119 days between October 1, 2025, and May 1, 2026. ABC News reported that a 43-day shutdown late last year furloughed about 670,000 federal workers and that a separate 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security this year left Transportation Security Administration officers, Coast Guard members and other employees without pay. (apnews.com) AP described Thursday’s vote as an attempt to make shutdowns financially painful for lawmakers after a series of record-breaking impasses in the past year. That rationale was also reflected in coverage from CBS News and Politico, which tied the move to repeated funding lapses in recent months. ### Does the rule actually cut senators’ pay? (kennedy.senate.gov) The resolution delays senators’ pay during a shutdown but does not permanently cancel it. NBC News reported that senators would receive full back pay after the government reopens, and the resolution text says withheld payments must be released once the shutdown ends. That means the measure creates a temporary loss of access to paychecks rather than a permanent salary reduction. (apnews.com) The distinction matters because the 27th Amendment restricts laws that vary congressional compensation until an election intervenes, and this resolution is set to take effect only after the November 2026 election. That timing is an inference from the constitutional backdrop and the resolution’s effective-date language. (nbcnews.com) ### When would the new rule start to apply? The resolution’s text says it applies on and after the day following the regularly scheduled federal general election in November 2026. Multiple reports said that means it would not govern any shutdown before that election but would apply to later funding lapses. September 30, 2026, is the end of the federal fiscal year and the next major funding deadline before the election. (congress.gov) If Congress faces another shutdown fight after the November election, the Secretary of the Senate would be the official responsible for holding senators’ pay under the new rule. (fox40.com)