Senators Vote To Nix Their Own Pay During Shutdowns

Senators unanimously voted Thursday for Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy’s resolution to withhold their paychecks during government shutdowns.

The Senate adopted the measure in a 99-0 voice vote, which allows senators to receive backpay only after a government shutdown ends. The resolution only impacts the Senate and would not prevent members of the House or other government workers from getting paid.

The chamber voted to advance the resolution Wednesday. Republican Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts did not vote on the resolution.

Kennedy said that if other government workers cannot get paid, then neither should the Senate.

“It’s about shared sacrifice,” Kennedy said on the House floor. “I mean, what we have done this year in terms of keeping government open. Last October, I looked it up before coming to the floor, last October, we shut the government 43 days. It’s the longest shutdown in history. And we had FBI agents and national park rangers and CDC scientists, our staffers here in Congress, nobody was getting paid … We ought to had our heads in a bag. It’s gotta stop. Shutting down the government should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences.” 

My resolution to stop senators’ pay during government shutdowns cleared a key procedural vote today, moving it one step closer to final passage.

Fair-minded Americans know senators should feel the pain of a shutdown with the American people. pic.twitter.com/hI7maEtaIM

— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) May 13, 2026