GOP Senator Moves To Withhold Congressional Pay, Believes Shutdown Will Go ‘A While Longer’

WASHINGTON—Senator John Kennedy says he’s introducing two bills that would withhold paychecks from members of Congress for the duration of the government shutdown.

On the Senate floor Wednesday, the Louisiana Republican said he has “heard a lot of rumors” about being close to an agreement but doesn’t believe they are close.

BREAKING: @SenJohnKennedy said he’s bringing 2 shutdown related bills to withhold Congressional paychecks.

He believes we’re going to be in a shutdown “a while longer.”

– First bill that says as long as we are shut down, members of Congress can’t be paid and they WON’T be… pic.twitter.com/VkFXT835JM

— Amber Jo Cooper (@AmberJoCooper) November 5, 2025

The Senator said he was hopeful they are, but said he thinks “we’re going to be in shut down a while longer.” The shutdown hits Day 37 on Thursday.

In the meantime, he filed two bills: the “No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act” and the “Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act.”

The first bill would cut pay for members of Congress during a government shutdown — with no back pay.

The second bill would withhold their salaries during the shutdown by placing the funds in escrow, allowing full payment to be released once the government reopens, he explained.

“Some may say, ‘well, this violates the 27th Amendment.’ I don’t think it does. That’s why I’m offering two different flavors of bills,” he explained.

In 2013, President Barack Obama supported similar legislation during a previous shutdown that said “if you don’t open up government by this certain date then you’re going to lose your paychecks,” according to Kennedy.

“And guess what — members of Congress had an epiphany and they found religion…and they opened up government,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy previously filed other bills to require the federal government to pay both federal employees and military personnel during the shutdown. All were rejected.

On the floor, he said federal workers have “had to borrow $365 million so far during this 36-day shutdown in order just to pay their rent.”

“If we can’t do our jobs and fund the government, we don’t deserve a paycheck — plain and simple,” Kennedy said in a statement.

He said he, unlike his Democratic colleagues, doesn’t see missing paychecks or empty dinner plates “as leverage.”

“That’s why I’ve been working to make sure that only members of Congress feel the pain of a shutdown,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy was referring to a previous FOX News report where House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) admitted suffering families are “leverage” in the shutdown battle.

“I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,” Clark said at the time.

Kennedy said his bills “ensure Congress feels the same pain as the folks we’re failing to pay – our troops, air traffic controllers, and federal workers.”

We will continue to monitor Kennedy’s bills if they advance.