The U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument in Washington, DC, at sunset on October 14, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – Some members of Congress are calling for their salaries to be withheld during the government shutdown, while federal workers on Friday missed their first full paycheck since many businesses closed on Oct. 1.
With no movement toward a deal to end the shutdown, the House remained on an extended break from Capitol Hill, the Senate departed for its usual long weekend and President Donald Trump prepared for a trip to China, where he will likely focus much more on foreign policy and tariffs than the funding shortfall.
Unlike the two million civilian federal employees and thousands of staffers who work in the legislative branch, the president, lawmakers and federal judges are all receiving their regular paychecks during the government shutdown. Members of Congress receive $174,000 per year, and executives receive more.
Active duty military members would normally miss their paycheck as well, but the Department of Defense would $8 billion reprogrammed earlier this month to avoid a missed payday for U.S. troops. It’s unclear whether the Pentagon will be able to do this again before the Oct. 31 pay deadline or whether there will be enough money left to cover those salaries.
Pay for Congress
Unlike most federal employees, members of Congress have the option to receive their pay as usual, donate their pay to charity, return the money to the Treasury or have their checks withheld during the shutdown.
Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo posted a letter On Thursday evening, House Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor confirmed that House members’ salaries may be withheld until the funding deadline ends.
Szpindor wrote that legal provisions, including the 27th Amendment, entitle members of Congress to their salaries and that any lawmaker whose check is withheld during a shutdown can request distribution at any time. Szpindor did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted said the Senate finance clerk told his office that while senators were obligated to pay, officials could hold his check until after the shutdown ended, at his request.
The Senate disbursement office will continue to cut the check, but Husted will only pick it up after Congress funds the government, the spokesman said.
Husted does not believe members of Congress should receive their salaries on time while other federal employees cannot, the spokesman said.
Another Senate staffer providing background information on the issue told States Newsroom that another senator’s salary was switched from direct deposit to a physical paycheck at that senator’s request so that it could be withheld by the disbursement agent for the duration of the shutdown.
Members of Congress who have requested withholding of their salaries include Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, Florida Republican Representative Kat Cammack, New Jersey Democratic Senator Andy Kim, Oklahoma Republican Representative Stephanie Bice and Oregon Democratic Representative Janelle Bynum.
Spokespeople for Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not respond to a request for comment on whether their salaries will be withheld during the shutdown. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said his paycheck would be withheld.
Can MP salaries be legally withheld?
Congress has voted several times over the years to formally withhold members’ salaries during a shutdown, but none of the bills ever became law. In previous funding failures, there were questions about whether members’ paychecks could legally be withheld.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office wrote in a letter Shortly before the shutdown began, he told Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst that paying members “is mandated by the Constitution and is considered a mandatory expense.”
“As a result, members of Congress would continue to be paid even if the discretionary appropriations are eliminated,” wrote CBO Director Phillip L. Swagel.
This assessment is consistent with a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which was updated in August to say: “Members of Congress will continue to receive their salaries as funding phases out for a variety of reasons.”
The report states that MPs’ salaries “have been provided through a permanent, compulsory appropriation since 1981”.
The U.S. Constitution states in Article I, Section 6, Clause 1: “Senators and Representatives shall receive for their services such compensation as shall be established by law and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.”
And the 27th Amendment states: “No law altering the compensation for the services of Senators and Representatives shall take effect until an election of Representatives has taken place.”
The CRS report cites the Government Accountability Office’s Principles of Federal Budget Law as saying, “A member of Congress’s salary is fixed by law and therefore cannot be repealed without specific statutory authorization.”
But the report also points out that nothing prevents a member of Congress from accepting the salary and then donating all or part of it back to the Treasury.
No options and no government paychecks
This choice is not available to people who work for members of Congress or in departments and agencies throughout the executive branch.
They will have to forego their paychecks until Congress and the president negotiate a deal to fund the government and end the shutdown.
Any worker dealing with national security issues or the protection of life or property is considered exempt and will continue to work until the shutdown ends. Any federal employee who does not fall into this category will be furloughed.
The Senate was unable to advance several bills As of Thursday, some federal employees and contractors would have received pay during the shutdown.
Unless there is up-to-date action from Congress, a 2019 law would require both exempt and non-exempt federal employees to receive back pay after the government reopens, according to Trump and administration officials have expressed doubts about whether they will do this for employees in the executive branch.
House Administration Committee guidance says all employees who work in the Legislature will receive back pay once a funding bill is enacted.
“Neither essential nor furloughed employees are eligible to receive compensation during a loss of government funding,” the notice said report says. “Federal law legally requires retroactive pay for furloughed and essential employees after state funding expires.”
