U.S. Senator John Kennedy speaks to reporters during a vote at the U.S. Capitol on April 13, 2026. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Thursday that will prevent lawmakers in that chamber from receiving their paychecks during government shutdowns that begin after this year’s midterm elections.
Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy’s vote on the measure will have no impact on House members because each chamber of Congress can set its own rules and procedures.
The two-sided resolution Requires the Secretary of the Senate to cancel, but then withhold, lawmakers’ paychecks if Congress fails to timely fund an agency within the federal government.
Kennedy said during a speech Wednesday that he hoped the resolution would reduce the likelihood of future government shutdowns, after three last year.
“It has to stop,” he said. “Shutting down the government should not be our default solution to our refusal to resolve our issues and differences.”
Similar to how federal employees receive back pay after a shutdown ends, Kennedy said his resolution would do the same for senators.
“The senator’s salary is simply not available to this senator while we are in the shutdown, but once the shutdown is over, you will get your money,” he said.
To get the votes to pass the resolution, Kennedy said he had to “make some arrangements,” including that it did not apply to the House of Representatives and would not take effect before the election to comply with the 27th Amendment.
Members of Congress earn $174,000 annually, while those in leadership positions earn more. The constitution allows lawmakers to set their own salaries, which are covered by a eternal, mandatory appropriation.
Unlike employees who work for them or the rest of the federal government, lawmakers and the president received their salaries during past shutdowns unless they took action to stop their paychecks.
Several members asked either the House Chief Administrative Officer or the Senate Finance Clerk to withhold their paychecks during the first shutdown.
Congress is scheduled to pass the dozen annual government funding bills before the start of the fresh fiscal year on October 1, but has not completed all the work on time in three decades.
Lawmakers regularly pass at least one emergency budget bill to keep federal programs running largely on autopilot, while the House and Senate work to finalize those budget bills in the fall, typically sending them to the president sometime in December.
However, political differences and heightened political tensions led to three closures this fiscal year with varying impacts.
The first one started last October and has persevered On November 12, Democrats unsuccessfully tried to force Republicans to provide expanded tax credits for people who buy health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Lawmakers were able to pass six of the spending bills before a brief partial shutdown has taken place from January 31st to February 3rd. The legislation that ended that funding shortfall included five additional spending bills, leaving the Department of Homeland Security the only department without its annual budget bill.
After federal officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Democrats called for immigration restrictions, leading to a third shutdown of many DHS agencies. This lasted from February 14th to April 30th Congress agreed its final funding bill without fresh spending for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Protection.
Republicans plan to take advantage of the complicated budget reconciliation process to approve $72 billion that would cover immigration control measures for three years. GOP lawmakers can do this without Democratic votes in the Senate as long as they play by the rules.
Lawmakers in both chambers have also begun work on the slate of legislation for the next fiscal year 12 state funding lawsHowever, it is highly unlikely that they will all come into force before the end of September.
That raises the possibility of another government shutdown just weeks before voters go to the polls in November’s midterm elections to decide which political party will control Congress for the next two years.
