Senate staffers missed their first full paychecks due to the government shutdown on Monday, but at least one Democratic lawmaker who has repeatedly voted against reopening the government will not say whether he still plans to receive his salary.
Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday that he is “still evaluating” whether to request that his next paycheck be withheld. Gallego also criticized Republicans for pursuing “symbolic, bullshit gestures” during the shutdown while arguing that most of his colleagues are wealthy individuals who can afford to miss a paycheck. (RELATED: Democrats Block Legislation To Pay Troops During Shutdown)
“But the whole point of all of this is one big gimmick because all these guys here are either millionaires or billionaires and already got paid out for the month before they started doing this,” Gallego told the DCNF while referring to his House colleagues who are paid on a monthly basis. “At the same time, they’ve been careless to the fact they’re going to increase the insurance premiums on 24 million Americans, potentially kick off 4 million Americans from health insurance.”
“But they’ll do these symbolic, bullshit gestures that don’t do anything to help the cause,” Gallego continued.
Members of Congress receive their salaries during a shutdown due to a provision in the Constitution protecting their pay. Lawmakers earn an annual salary of $174,000 with those in leadership positions receiving larger sums.
A large swath of lawmakers in both parties have pledged to forgo their next paycheck as long as the shutdown continues.
Gallego previously told NBC News before the shutdown commenced that he cannot afford to miss a paycheck, citing his three children.
“I would basically be missing, you know, mortgage payments, rent payments, child support,” the Arizona Democrat, who is divorced and remarried in 2019, told the outlet. “So it’s not feasible, not gonna happen.”
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 1: Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) walks out of the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. The government shut down early Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Senate staff received an email on Thursday stating that all future paychecks will be withheld until the end of the shutdown, according to an email obtained by the DCNF.
The DCNF asked Gallego about his staff, who likely have similar financial concerns, missing their paychecks on Monday.
“I told you what I told you,” Gallego said, declining to go into further detail.
Republican Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani hammered Gallego for declining to discuss his staff not receiving their salaries during the shutdown.
So much insight here into Ruben Gallego:
1. “Still evaluating”? Even after given the chance to change course and do the right thing, Ruben still can’t find it in him.
2. “Gimmick”? How about principle and solidarity to all those you’re hurting with this shutdown while opting to… https://t.co/kGdblFK7hz
— Juan Ciscomani (@JuanCiscomani) October 20, 2025
“No comment about his own staff not getting paid? Maybe he thinks they’re millionaires too…” Ciscomani wrote on X. “No character. No leadership. No shame.”
Senate Democrats have repeatedly refused to supply the votes to temporarily fund the government — and end the shutdown.
Gallego has rejected a House-passed bipartisan funding measure to temporarily fund the government on eleven separate occasions. The measure would also ensure that his staff and the millions of other federal employees set to miss a paycheck receive their salary.
The Arizona Democrat also voted against a procedural motion to advance a defense appropriations bill on Thursday that would have paid U.S. service members for the full fiscal-year.
Gallego has supported a Democratic-led counter proposal that would force the government to spend an extra $1.5 trillion on various partisan policy demands to fund operations through Oct. 31.
More than 500 individuals have applied for a $5,000 shutdown relief loan, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union. Hundreds of Capitol Hill staffers and federal workers across varying agencies have become members of the credit union or its financial literacy-focused nonprofit to simply apply for the loan.
Andi Shae Napier contributed to this report.
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