Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Have any members of Congress voluntarily declined pay during a shutdown?
Executive summary
Yes — during the 2025 shutdown many individual members of Congress publicly declined, deferred, or pledged to donate their paychecks as a symbolic protest; ABC News counted at least 55 senators doing so and outlets and compilations list dozens of House members making similar pledges [1] [2]. Congress as an institution, however, remains entitled to be paid under the Constitution and lawmakers continue to receive statutory pay unless Congress enacts a law to withhold it — and several bills and amendments have been proposed to change that [1] [3] [4].
1. A visible, symbolic wave: dozens of lawmakers “forgoing” pay during the 2025 shutdown
Reporting shows a substantial number of individual senators and representatives publicly refused, deferred, or pledged to donate their paychecks during the 2025 shutdown; ABC News tallied at least 55 of 100 senators who were not taking pay or were donating their salaries, and tracking sites compiled extensive lists of both senators and House members making such pledges [1] [2]. Those moves were overwhelmingly framed as symbolic acts of solidarity with furloughed federal employees or to signal accountability for the shutdown [2].
2. Constitutional and statutory reality: members are still legally paid unless law changes
Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution guarantees that “The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services,” and current practice has meant members continue to receive pay during shutdowns unless a law says otherwise; multiple outlets note that the Constitution and existing rules leave members entitled to payment even while many federal employees are furloughed [1] [4]. In other words, individual refusals are voluntary gestures, not the result of an automatic legal withholding [1] [4].
3. Legislative responses: bills to withhold or escrow congressional pay
Lawmakers have introduced measures to change the status quo. At least two pieces of legislation in the 119th Congress would withhold or eliminate members’ pay during shutdowns or put pay in escrow until the shutdown ends: H.R.1973 would withhold or eliminate pay when the debt limit is reached or there is a shutdown, and other bills (e.g., H.R.5678 variants) would hold pay in escrow or eliminate it entirely for days of shutdown [3] [5]. Sponsors argue these laws would create accountability; critics and constitutional scholars have raised concerns about feasibility and constitutionality [3] [6].
4. Mixed political motives and messaging: solidarity vs. optics
Proponents of refusing pay present their acts as solidarity with unpaid federal workers and as political pressure on recalcitrant colleagues [2] [7]. Opponents — and some members who declined to participate — call the tactic a “gimmick” that does little for struggling workers and disproportionately signals virtue for wealthier members who can afford it, a point highlighted by Sen. Ruben Gallego and discussed in news coverage [1]. Observers and opinion pieces also note potential hidden incentives: symbolic refusals can deflect public anger while leaving the underlying power dynamics intact [1] [6].
5. Historical context: not the first time, but scope varies
Past shutdowns saw similar behavior: during the 2018–2019 shutdown dozens of members publicly pledged to forgo pay [2]. The scale in 2025 appears comparable or larger in some tallies, with trackers attempting near-real-time lists of who is pledging to decline or donate pay. Yet reporting emphasizes that voluntary refusals are episodic and politically driven rather than a structural fix [2].
6. Practical limits: refusing pay doesn’t stop the economic harm to workers
Analysts and some lawmakers caution that personal pledges by members do not restore pay to furloughed federal employees or avert disrupted services; prominent legislative maneuvers in the Senate and House during the 2025 shutdown focused instead on whether to pass partial payments for workers or broader funding, and those votes were highly politicized and failed at times [8] [9]. The Senate’s refusal to pass a bill to pay federal workers during the 2025 stalemate illustrates that the core remedies are funding votes, not individual lawmakers’ salary gestures [8].
7. What to watch next: bills, court challenges, and political leverage
Expect continued proposals to make withholding or escrow permanent via statute or even constitutional amendment (Rep. Ralph Norman’s and others’ efforts were publicized), plus debates over constitutionality and potential legal challenges [4] [10]. Political pressure — both from public opinion and from advocacy for furloughed workers — will shape whether voluntary pay refusals translate into legislative change or remain symbolic protest [3] [4].
Limitations: available sources document 2025 reporting and bill texts and trace public pledges, but they do not provide a definitive, exhaustive rollcall of every member’s payroll choices; for comprehensive, up-to-the-minute lists reporters relied on ongoing tallies and statements from individual offices [1] [2].