Senators vote to block their pay during future government shutdowns

By Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — The Senate on Thursday moved to bar senators from being paid during government shutdowns.

Pushed by Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, the measure took on renewed significance in the wake of two history-making shutdowns in recent months: A 43-day federal government shutdown in 2025 and a record-breaking 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year.

The measure does not need approval from the House nor the president and is binding for senators beginning in November after the midterm elections.

Senators approved the resolution by voice vote, despite some questions as to whether it was constitutional. The Constitution only states that lawmakers are to be paid from the Treasury, with no exceptions mentioned.

But Kennedy has maintained the resolution is not unconstitutional and didn’t expect any challenges from his colleagues on those grounds.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was bullish on the measure’s prospects ahead of the vote. “Yes, I’m going to vote for it, and I think it has a lot of support,” the New York Democrat said Wednesday.

Speaker Mike Johnson has not indicated whether the House will adopt a similar measure applied to its own members’ salaries in the future.

“We’ll have to find out,” he previously told reporters. “I mean, the House has some ideas on that as well, so we’ll see what consensus we can build on.”

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CNN’s Ellis Kim contributed to this report.

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