State's entire congressional delegation voluntarily halts their paychecks amid shutdown

Entire Kansas congressional delegation voluntarily halts their paychecks amid shutdown

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector
October 27, 2025

TOPEKA — All six members of the Kansas congressional delegation voluntarily put a halt to payment of their federal salaries during the ongoing government shutdown.

The latest to join the group, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of the 3rd District, said Monday that she sent a letter to the chief administrative officer of the U.S. House requesting that her paycheck be withheld until adoption of a bipartisan resolution to the impasse.

“Washington’s dysfunction is unacceptable, and Kansans have had enough,” Davids said. “I continue to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to come to the table to end this shutdown, and I will refuse to accept a paycheck until this shutdown is resolved.”

Other Kansans, all Republicans, also declined paychecks during the standoff: U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann of the 1st District, U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt of the 2nd District and U.S. Rep. Ron Estes of the 4th District.

Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate earn $174,000 in annual salary, which amounts to $14,500 per month.

The U.S. House passed a bill that would keep the federal government open into November, but the Senate hasn’t been able to reach agreement on a funding measure.

Schmidt, who represents much of rural eastern Kansas, said “the whole situation is so unnecessary and very frustrating.”

He said the Senate had two options: One, pass the “clean, bipartisan” bill endorsed more than a month ago by the House. Or, the Senate could approve a different bill that could be voted on by the House.

Estes said failure of Congress to pass a temporary funding bill didn’t stop paychecks from going to lawmakers during a shutdown. He sent a letter weeks ago to U.S. House administrators with instructions to withhold his net pay until an appropriations agreement took effect.

Payton Fuller, a spokesperson for Marshall, said the GOP senator likewise “feels strongly that if federal workers and the military are required to work without pay, then it’s not right for him to be accepting a paycheck.”

In a recent interview, Marshall said a breakthrough could occur Nov. 1 because air traffic controllers and members of the military were due a paycheck. He said political pressure could be “the seminal moment that pushes us forward.”

The federal budget dispute also poses a threat to recipients of SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which delivers food aid to approximately 187,000 people in Kansas. It risks suspension of funding for WIC, the program for Women, Infants and Children that provides healthy food, breastfeeding support and nutrition education to about 50,000 Kansans.

Thousands of Kansans have been placed on furlough in October, but federal employees viewed as essential have been required to stay on the job without pay. Kansas is home to more than 25,000 federal employees and more than 21,000 active-duty members of the military

“My mom, an Army veteran, raised my brothers and me on her own,” Davids said. “If she had missed even one paycheck, it could’ve meant choosing between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table.”

She said an agreement by Congress to reopen the federal government should include a provision protecting families from rising health care costs when insurance tax credits expired later this year.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.