John Kennedy
03/26/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/26/2026 12:51
Kennedy calls for shared sacrifice, asks Senate Financial Clerk to withhold his pay until DHS shutdown ends
WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to the Financial Clerk of the U.S. Senate requesting that they withhold his salary until the ongoing shutdown at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ends. The funding lapse has left DHS personnel, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, working through the shutdown without pay as travel disruptions and staffing strains continue to worsen.
"If TSA officers, Border Patrol agents, and other DHS personnel are not getting paid, neither should senators. That's what my letter is about. It's about shared sacrifice. I'm asking the Senate Financial Clerk to withhold my paycheck until DHS is open again. We should not be cashing checks while the hardworking men and women protecting our homeland go without pay," said Kennedy.
Kennedy's letter builds on his long-standing efforts to ensure senators feel the consequences of a government shutdown. Most recently, on March 23, 2026, Kennedy attempted to pass his resolution to withhold senators' pay during government shutdowns via unanimous consent, but Senate Democrats objected and blocked the resolution. In making his case, Kennedy said the resolution was about "shared sacrifice" and sending a message to the American people.
Kennedy first introduced early versions of this legislation in November 2025 during the historic 43-day government shutdown and fought for passage on the U.S. Senate floor.
Kennedy's resolution received unanimous, bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate Rules Committee in December 2025.
Full text of the letter is here.
Full text of the resolution is available here.
Watch Kennedy's speech on the U.S. Senate floor on his resolution here.
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