Resident Commissioner asks that his salary be withheld until government reopens

By THE STAR STAFF

Amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández has requested that his salary be withheld until Congress reaches an agreement and the government fully reopens.

In a letter addressed to Catherine Szpindor, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Resident Commissioner stated: “With the federal government shut down, Members of Congress must adhere to the same standards as the people they represent. Until Congress fulfills its duty to reopen the government, Members of Congress should not receive salaries. Therefore, I am requesting that my salary be withheld until legislation is signed to reopen the government.”

Federal workers will largely not be paid during a shutdown. Employees who are considered essential must still report to work, although they will not be paid until the government reopens. Furloughed and essential employees will receive back pay after a shutdown ends.

President Donald Trump and members of Congress, however, still get paid during a shutdown. Their pay is constitutionally protected.

On Thursday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would meet with Vought to decide which “Democrat Agencies” the OMB director “recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.”

Trump, like other Republican leaders, blamed Democratic leaders in Congress for the shutdown.