BREAKING: Sen. John Kennedy Unveils Dual Bills to Strip Lawmakers’ Pay During Shutdowns, Citing ‘Skin in the Game’

By Rebecca Lang, Capitol Hill Bureau Chief

Washington, D.C. – November 10, 2025 – In a pointed escalation of pressure on his congressional colleagues, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) announced Monday that he will introduce two companion bills designed to withhold salaries from members of Congress during any government shutdown—a move he frames as a moral imperative to ensure lawmakers feel the same financial sting as the federal workers they represent.

The first measure, titled the No Shutdown Paychecks to Politicians Act, is straightforward and uncompromising: the moment a funding lapse triggers a partial shutdown, congressional paychecks cease entirely. No retroactive reimbursement would follow, even after appropriations are restored. “If federal employees are expected to borrow money, skip mortgage payments, or max out credit cards just to feed their families, then Congress should not get a single dime until the job is done,” Kennedy declared at a packed press conference outside the Senate chamber, flanked by photos of furloughed TSA agents and park rangers.

The second bill, the Withhold Member Pay During Shutdowns Act, serves as a constitutional workaround. Acknowledging the Twenty-seventh Amendment—which prohibits any law varying congressional compensation from taking effect until after the next election—Kennedy’s escrow proposal would place lawmakers’ salaries into a locked federal account for the duration of the shutdown. Those funds would only be released following the subsequent congressional election, effectively delaying payment without technically altering pay mid-term.

“Either way, the message is the same,” Kennedy said, his Louisiana drawl cutting through the marble corridors. “You don’t get paid for failing to do your most basic job: keeping the government open.”

The announcement lands on the 41st day of the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history, which began October 1 after Congress failed to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills. Roughly 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed or working without pay, while essential personnel—air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents, and prison guards—continue operations under legal mandate but with IOUs instead of income.

Kennedy, a former state treasurer known for colorful analogies and sharp-witted floor speeches, pulled no punches in highlighting the disparity. “While a single mom at the FDA is deciding between gas and groceries, members of Congress are still cashing $174,000 checks,” he said, referring to the base annual salary for rank-and-file lawmakers. “That’s not leadership. That’s looting.”

The senator cited real-world fallout: the Transportation Security Administration reported a 10% absenteeism spike last week as screeners called out unpaid; the Coast Guard issued emergency financial aid applications; and food banks near military bases in Virginia and California reported triple the usual demand. “These are the people who keep planes in the sky and terrorists off our shores,” Kennedy said. “And we’re telling them, ‘Sorry, maybe next month.’ Meanwhile, we’re all still on the clock. That’s obscene.”

The proposal revives a perennial reform idea with a checkered past. In 2013, the No Budget, No Pay Act—which withheld congressional pay if appropriations or a budget resolution weren’t passed by deadlines—was signed into law but never triggered due to continuing resolutions. Constitutional scholars later argued it violated the Twenty-seventh Amendment, rendering it largely symbolic.

Kennedy’s escrow mechanism attempts to sidestep that hurdle. “We’re not cutting pay—we’re delaying it until the people have spoken,” he explained, nodding to the amendment’s election-cycle requirement. Legal experts are divided. Georgetown Law professor David Super called the escrow model “clever but likely still unconstitutional,” arguing that deferred compensation still constitutes a mid-term variation. Conversely, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Thomas Jipping praised it as “a good-faith effort to respect both the Constitution and common sense.”

On Capitol Hill, reactions split sharply along familiar lines. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) offered cautious support: “Senator Kennedy is raising a valid point about accountability. We’ll review the legislation.” But Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) dismissed it as “political theater.” “This doesn’t fund a single national park or pay a single air traffic controller,” Durbin said. “It’s a distraction from the real work of negotiating a deal.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Kennedy’s home-state ally, went further, announcing plans to introduce a companion bill in the lower chamber. “If we can’t agree on spending, we shouldn’t agree on getting paid,” Johnson told reporters. Yet even some Republicans privately admit the bills face long odds. With a slim GOP majority and Democrats unified against what they call “performative cruelty,” passage would require near-unanimous Republican support—and potentially a discharge petition, a rare procedural maneuver.

Outside the Beltway, the idea resonates. A Morning Consult flash poll conducted Sunday showed 68% of registered voters—including 59% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans—support withholding congressional pay during shutdowns. In Baton Rouge, Kennedy’s hometown, local TSA union president Maria Gutierrez told The Capitol Gazette: “I’ve been here 18 years. I’ve never missed a shift. But I’m two weeks behind on rent. If Congress wants to play chicken, let them feel it too.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking from the podium Monday, declined to endorse the bills but acknowledged the frustration. “The President has said no one should work without pay—especially not the men and women keeping America safe,” she said, stopping short of criticizing Congress directly.

Kennedy, however, shows no interest in compromise. “This isn’t about party. It’s about performance,” he said, invoking a favorite analogy: “If your plumber doesn’t fix the leak, you don’t pay him. Why should Congress be any different?”

As the shutdown drags into its sixth week—with no public negotiations scheduled—the bills may serve less as policy and more as a moral mirror. Lawmakers return from Veterans Day recess Tuesday to a Capitol buzzing with tension. Food pantries on federal campuses are stocked by private donations; unpaid janitors have begun leaving notes on senators’ doors: “We clean your offices. When do we get paid?”

Whether Kennedy’s gambit forces a breakthrough or merely deepens the stalemate remains unseen. But one thing is clear: the gentleman from Louisiana has ensured that, for the first time in decades, Congress itself has skin—and salary—in the game.