‘I’m Not Wealthy’: Democrat Refuses To Forgo Pay During Shutdown As His Own Staff Goes Unpaid

Democrats drove the federal government into a shutdown at 12:01 am Wednesday after blocking a GOP spending bill, but at least one Democratic lawmaker says he won’t be giving up his paycheck.

Roughly 750,000 employees will be furloughed during the shutdown, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona told NBC News that he won’t forgo his $174,000 congressional salary, which lawmakers continue to collect during shutdowns under Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution.

“I’m not wealthy and I have three kids. I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support,” Gallego told NBC News. “So it’s not feasible, not gonna happen.”

Congressional staffers are not paid during the funding lapse, though they will receive back pay once the government reopens.

“By Republicans’ theory, all Republicans should give up their health care since they’re hellbent on cutting health care for millions of Americans. Senator Gallego, like nearly all Americans, relies on his salary to raise his kids, and won’t participate in this bad-faith Republican virtue-signaling,” a spokesperson for Gallego told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation