John Kennedy

WASHINGTON – Without opposition, the U.S. Senate on Thursday agreed to withhold pay from senators during future government shutdowns.

The resolution was sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, and cleared a procedural hurdle Wednesday without a single no vote, setting up Thursday’s unanimous voice vote.

Kennedy said the instrument is an incentive not to block funding bills.

“This is about shared sacrifice. If senators are going to vote to shut down the government and prevent millions of federal workers from getting paid, they ought to have the same skin in the game. My resolution will ensure that senators aren’t the only people receiving their paychecks during a government shutdown,” Kennedy said Wednesday on the Senate floor.

Without authorization to spend money, the federal government ceased many operations for a record 43 days in 2025 when Democrats demanded an extension of subsidies for those seeing their Affordable Care Act health insurance premiums double. Then, government closed for another four days earlier this year because delays on the votes necessary to continue operations.

The Department of Homeland Security then went without funding for another 76 days, from February 14 to April 30, over Democratic demands for greater accountability in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts after federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens.

In both shutdowns, many federal employees were forced to work without pay. Other staffers were sent home and received no pay checks for the duration.