Fact check: Which senators publicly pledged to forgo pay in 2013 or 2018-2019 shutdowns?

1. What the claim set actually says about lawmakers refusing pay — extracting the headline assertions

The assembled analyses present three distinct claims: that dozens of lawmakers publicly rejected pay in 2013; that more than 100 members of Congress declined pay in the same period; and that at least 20 senators publicly pledged to forgo pay in the 2018–2019 shutdown. The 2013 claims list specific senators — Sherrod Brown, Chris Coons, Mike Crapo, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham — and suggest a broad congressional movement to avoid the optics of being paid ^{[1] [2]}. The 2018–2019 claims repeatedly identify Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen and other senators and representatives as publicly refusing pay, stressing solidarity with furloughed federal workers ^{[3] [4] [5]}. These summaries constitute the core factual claims to test or reconcile.

2. What contemporaneous 2013 reporting actually documented and what it did not

Contemporaneous coverage from October 2013 documents numerous lawmakers publicly pledging to give up or donate their pay amid the government shutdown, with reporting noting more than 100 members of Congress engaging in the practice and naming several specific senators who declared they would forgo pay ^{[2] [1]}. The 2013 pieces emphasize the political optics and charitable donations as the principal motivation, and they record explicit named pledges by a mixture of Democrats and Republicans. What the 2013 sources do not provide is a definitive, centralized roster that is exhaustively verified, leaving open whether every named pledge translated into a formal payroll adjustment or a later donation designation ^{[1] [2]}.

3. Who was reported to refuse pay in the 2018–2019 shutdown and how robust are those reports

Reporting from January 2019 documents at least 20 senators and many representatives publicly rejecting pay during the 2018–2019 lapse, with frequent mentions of Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen among others ^{[3] [4]}. The 2018–2019 accounts focus on public statements and press releases signaling refusal or donation of paychecks, often framed as solidarity with federal employees affected by unpaid furloughs ^[5]. These articles do not attempt to reconcile every pledge with subsequent payroll records, and they do not overlap substantially with the 2013 lists, which suggests separate waves of public commitments rather than a single continuous record ^{[3] [4]}.

4. Cross-period comparisons and recurring names — where overlap appears and where it doesn’t

When comparing the 2013 and 2018–2019 reporting sets, few names recur conspicuously; Lindsey Graham appears in both eras’ mentions, while other senators are period-specific ^{[1] [6]}. The 2019 sources emphasize a different cohort, including Warren and Blumenthal, who were widely reported refusing pay that winter ^[3]. Later compilations and retrospective lists produced in 2025 reference broader patterns of senators donating pay during subsequent shutdowns and include some previously named figures, but these are distinct episodes and not direct confirmations of 2013 or 2019 actions ^{[6] [7]}. The available source set therefore points to episodic, publicly announced refusals rather than one continuous, easily cross-referenced register.

5. Gaps, incentives and potential agendas that shape the coverage

The source summaries reveal two important limitations: first, public pledges are often reported from press statements and may not equate to verifiable payroll forfeiture or documented donation, and second, coverage serves political optics — pledges often appear when legislators want to counter criticism about being paid while constituents work without pay ^{[2] [5]}. Media outlets emphasize solidarity narratives, and later lists compiled by advocacy-oriented outlets mix contemporary reporting with retrospective aggregation, which can introduce selection bias and inconsistencies ^{[6] [7]}. Readers should note these incentives when treating pledge lists as definitive proof of withheld compensation.

6. Bottom line and practical next steps for verification

The evidence across the provided sources supports the claim that senators publicly pledged to forgo pay in both 2013 and 2018–2019, but the names differ by period and no single source in this set offers a fully verified master list covering both shutdowns ^{[1] [3]}. For definitive confirmation, consult congressional payroll records or formal donation acknowledgments from the senators’ offices for the specific shutdown dates; until then, treat media-reported pledge lists as indicative but not conclusive. If you want, I can compile a side-by-side table of every named senator from these sources and flag which period each pledge was reported ^{[2] [4] [6]}.