DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin warns. the 'historic' 76-day government shutdown has left the nation's security agencies struggling to recover while accusing Democrats of holding border funding hostage to satisfy the far-left base.
Senate Republicans' gamble to inflict pain on themselves to thwart future shutdowns just got an unlikely backer: Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer,D-N.Y.
The upper chamber is set to vote onSen. John Kennedy's, R-La., resolutionon Wednesday that would prevent senators from getting a paycheck during a government shutdown. It's a tool. Republicans hope will give them leverage in preventing Democrats from again shuttering the government in the fall.
And Schumer, who has led Democrats through two shutdowns in the last year, plans to support it.
SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROW
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news briefing with Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., after a Senate Democratic luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2026.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
"I'm going to vote for it," Schumer said. "And I think it has a lot of support."
Kennedy's resolution would direct the Secretary of the Senate to withhold lawmakers' pay until a shutdown is resolved. A rank-and-file senator earns $174,000 per year, while a leader of either party can earn over $193,000 per year.
His resolution would only pertain to the Senate, too. However, it wouldn't take effect until after the November midterm elections,. some Republicans fear that Schumer and Democrats will again shut the government down before voters hit the polls.
KENNEDY PUSHES PLAN TO HALT CONGRESS PAY DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., returns to his office after speaking on the Senate floor. addressing reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2026.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Still, with the blessing of Schumer. Senate Majority LeaderJohn Thune,R-S.D., who teed up the measure for a vote earlier this week, it's likely to pass.
That could lessen the desire of lawmakers to thrust the government into yet another shutdown in the next few months as Congress is still reeling from the growing frequency of closures,. the messes that they leave behind.
The latest partial shutdown lasted 76 days, the longest in U.S. history, and was spurred by Democrats' demands for stringent reforms to immigration operations in the country. Last year,Democrats refused to fund the governmentfor 43 days in pursuit of an extension to now-expired Obamacare tax credits.
REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN
Republicans are now sprinting through thebudget reconciliation process to shoreup loose ends from the previous shutdown. fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years.
Thune noted that the only reason Republicans turned to that option was because of Democrats' refusal to fund those agencies,. still hoped that Kennedy's resolution could be the silver bullet to put an end to shutdowns in the future.
"And if this — passing this. applying it to senators, maybe it will provide an additional incentive to preventSenate Democratsin the future from shutting the government down again," Thune said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
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