Retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota briefly acknowledged Thursday that she would continue to draw her Senate salary during the ongoing federal shutdown — even as she and fellow Democrats blocked a measure to pay essential federal workers who are currently on the job without compensation.
“I’m going to continue to take my paycheck,” Smith said when asked why she would not follow colleagues who have chosen to defer or donate their salary during the funding lapse. She defended the decision on the grounds that she is still working, saying, “I continue to work and I think the solution here is to end the shutdown by getting the negotiations going so we can solve the problem.”
But within minutes, Smith’s office attempted to walk the comments back, claiming the senator may have been “confused by the question.” A spokesperson said Smith had already requested that her paycheck be withheld “nearly two weeks ago.”
Her moment of confusion came just before she helped Democrats block legislation that would have provided pay to federal employees working through the shutdown — including Capitol Police officers and congressional staff who missed their first full paycheck Monday.
Lawmakers themselves, however, are shielded from missing pay under Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution. Members of Congress earn a base salary of $174,000, a figure significantly higher than what many Hill staffers — some earning less than a third of that — take home.
Nearly all Senate Democrats have repeatedly voted against a bipartisan House-passed spending bill that would reopen the government, rejecting it 12 times so far. With no resolution in sight, the shutdown is expected to drag into next week.
Other Democratic senators appeared irritated when pressed about their own paychecks.
“Are you on this again?” Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said before ignoring further questions. Days earlier, Gallego had said he was “still evaluating” whether he could forgo his salary — noting in a separate interview that he “could not afford to miss a paycheck.”
Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, asked whether she would defer her pay, insisted reporters should instead ask why Republicans aren’t ending the shutdown. “We should be focused on ending the shutdown and the Republicans should be focused on that,” she said.
Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin avoided the question entirely, saying only, “I’ve been through every one of these shutdowns, and I’ve tried it every way.” Washington Sen. Patty Murray and California Sen. Adam Schiff both declined to comment.
A handful of Democrats did say they would reject their pay: Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly both plan to donate their salaries, while Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he would give his to a federal employee relief fund.
Republicans argue that Democrats are placing political resistance to Donald Trump above basic obligations to those keeping the country running.
“Twelve times now, Democrats have blocked just paying our federal employees,” said Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who is deferring his own paycheck. “It’s federal employees all throughout the federal workforce, which literally is millions of Americans.”
Thune noted that more than 300 unpaid workers spent the night inside the Capitol earlier this week, forced to accommodate a 22-hour speech by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley — who then voted against a bill to pay them.
As the shutdown continues, Senate Democrats appear increasingly divided — not over how to end the impasse, but over whether they should be paid while their own staff go without.
[READ MORE: Virginia Attorney General Candidate Jay Jones Faces Probe Over Community Service Claims]
