Senate weighs new, painful leverage tactic as fears of another government shutdown grow
The resolution is one of several measures aimed at stopping shutdowns or creating leverage against them
By Alex Miller Fox News
Published May 12, 2026 9:56am EDT
The Senate will soon decide whether lawmakers should be paid during another government shutdown as the specter of more closures looms large.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a vote on a measure that would prevent senators from being paid during a government shutdown, a political option of last resort that has now become commonplace in the midst of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The resolution from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is straightforward: if there is another shutdown, he and his colleagues won’t get paid. It’s one of several resolutions and bills tossed around by lawmakers to find a way to stop shutdowns, or at least find a leverage point against them.
Thune quietly set up the resolution for a vote when the Senate returned on Monday as lawmakers gear up to fund immigration operations for the next three and a half years — a route they’re having to take as a result of the most recent shutdown.
When asked how he felt about his measure getting a shot, Kennedy said he pushed Thune to do it.
"He did it, and I think he’s a fine American," Kennedy said.
Shutdowns have become a common tool over the last year and a half that Democrats have turned to as a negotiating counterpoint. In Trump’s second term alone, Congress has been on the precipice of a closure four times.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-weighs-new-painful-leverage-tactic-fears-another-government-shutdown-grow
