All but four congressional Democrats voted against a GOP funding bill that would have kept the federal government open. Many of them have since lamented that millions of federal workers will not receive a paycheck until the government reopens—while still getting paid themselves.
Federal law stipulates that members of Congress, unlike the troops, get paid during a shutdown. But they can opt to defer or donate their taxpayer-funded salaries, which start at $174,000 a year.
Some members of Congress in both parties have said they will do just that. In the Senate, at least six Republicans, including Alabama's Katie Britt, have requested their pay be withheld during the shutdown. So have some Democrats, including New Jersey's Andy Kim. At least two dozen House members are doing the same.
But several Democrats who have used the pay issue to attack Republicans have either outright rejected calls to defer their own pay or failed to announce plans to do so. Here's a roundup of their statements:
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.)
While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said they will not take a paycheck, it's a nonstarter for Gallego, who has appeared several times on CNN and MSNBC to proclaim his opposition to the White House budget proposal.
"I'm not wealthy, and I have three kids. I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support," Gallego told NBC News. "So it's not feasible, not gonna happen."
The Republican National Committee accused Gallego, a Marine veteran, of "shamelessly" taking a paycheck while voting to deprive federal workers and some service members of their pay.
"But it's okay to take paychecks away from our military and benefits away from veterans?" the RNC asked.
Gallego's wife, Sydney, worked until earlier this year as a top lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors, one of the most powerful trade groups in the country.
Gallego pays an unknown amount of child support to his ex-wife, Phoenix mayor Kate Gallego, whom he divorced when she was nine months pregnant with their son.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.)
Jeffries, who makes $193,400 a year as House Minority Leader, squirmed during a press conference Wednesday when asked whether he would give up his paycheck during the shutdown his party caused.
Asked whether House Democrats should forgo pay during the shutdown, Jeffries said it's a decision members will have to make "on their own." But he sidestepped the question when it came to his own check.
"First of all, that question is not even a right one because we're anticipating that this shutdown issue will be resolved," said Jeffries.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., Texas)
The firebrand House Democrat said "They make you be broke until they get they [sic] stuff together."
"And to be clear, members of Congress—we still get paid," she added. "I just want to put that out there because I like to be fully transparent."
Crockett has given no indication that she plans to donate or defer her salary during the shutdown.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.)
Klobuchar remarked this week that the shutdown will leave many military members without a paycheck.
"Our service members? Unpaid," she wrote on X.
Warren, who has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the funding bill, reposted Klobuchar's remarks.
As of publishing time, neither Klobuchar nor Warren has announced that they will defer pay during the shutdown.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.)
At a press conference Wednesday, Van Hollen inaccurately blamed Republicans for "vot[ing] to keep the government shut down."
Flanked by federal employees, Van Hollen said they "don't deserve to bear the brunt of this shutdown."
"This is also going to hurt federal contractors; federal contractors who support the government mission," said Van Hollen. As of publishing time, Van Hollen has yet to commit to deferring or donating his own salary during the shutdown he helped cause.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.)
In a video Monday, Schiff said the shutdown will create a "tremendous hardship for a lot of federal employees."
"They still have rent to pay, they still have a mortgage to pay, they still have food to buy, they still have medicine to buy, and they're not going to get a paycheck through this course of this shutdown," said Schiff, whose net worth is at least $1.2 million, according to his financial disclosures.
Schiff said that some VA services will not be available, and that services at the National Parks are "in limbo."
As of publishing time, Schiff has given no indication that he plans to donate or defer his salary during the shutdown.
