Ted Cruz is refusing his paycheck due to ‘Democrat’s Shutdown’ — says it’s ‘not right’ for Congress to get paid if DHS workers aren’t

On Tuesday March 24, Cruz shared his pledge on X, along with a letter he sent to Financial Clerk of the Senate Ted Ruckner. He wrote:

“Due to the Democrat’s Shutdown, I’ve asked the Financial Clerk of the Senate to hold my salary. It’s not right for Members of Congress to be paid if the working men and women of DHS aren’t.”

As The Hill reports, it’s the second time he’s made such a pledge. He also did so during the 43-day government shutdown last fall (3).

While funding has been restored to the majority of DHS agencies and programs, there’s still an impasse over funding one departmental agency: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Here’s why the senator felt moved to sacrifice his salary.

Pressure to take action on DHS pay

Cruz’s declaration followed weeks of growing public frustration with the shutdown — with unpaid and absentee TSA workers being the most visible face of the funding crisis.

President Donald Trump, Cruz and others in the administration have been under pressure to demonstrate bold action — particularly in the past week, with travelers waiting for up to five hours just to get through security.

On Thursday March 26, Trump warned of taking “drastic measures” if the Democrats did not end the impasse. He followed through by deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at American airports, as CNN reported (4).

On Friday March 27, Trump signed an executive order for DHS to pay TSA employees.

ICE itself is now the focus of the funding debate, with Democrats’ demanding reforms to both it and Customs and Border Protection.