‘Please hold my salary’: Ted Cruz asks Senate to freeze his pay amid DHS shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, made a notable move on Tuesday, March 24, amid the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. In a post on his official X account, he called for his congressional salary to be withheld until the crisis is resolved.

As a key figure in high-stakes negotiations to reopen the agency, Cruz is navigating a tense standoff in which Democrats are refusing to support a critical funding bill without concessions on reforms to immigration enforcement agencies, including ICE and CBP.

Ted Cruz asks Senate Financial Clerk to hold his pay

Ted Cruz said on X, “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.”

He also shared a photo of a letter in his post, asking Senate Financial Clerk Ted Ruckner to hold his salary “for pickup” until the shutdown ends. 

In the letter, Cruz wrote, "For the remainder of the current partial lapse in appropriations, please hold my salary check for pickup in the Disbursing Office. It's not right for Members of Congress to be paid during a partial shutdown if the working men and women of the Department of Homeland Security aren't. Thank you for your attention to this request."

Cruz made a similar request during last fall’s government shutdown, which lasted 43 days and became the longest shutdown in history.

Ted Cruz suggests plan to pass funding bill

Ted Cruz proposed a two-step plan over the weekend to pass the funding bill. He suggested separating funding for immigration agencies such as ICE and CBP from the main bill and approving them later through a process that requires only a simple majority vote.

Cruz told The Hill, "What I’ve suggested is that the Democrats have gotten so extreme and unreasonable that I don’t know that they will ever be willing to fund Department of Homeland Security."

“If that’s where the Democrats are, I’ve suggested let’s fund ICE and CBP through reconciliation. That Republicans can do with just 50 votes, we can do that relatively quickly and the Democrat lunacy on open borders can be put to an end,” he explained. “I’m interested in any strategy to get the government open, to pay the Department of Homeland Security."

Cruz pointed to growing tensions at airports, “And millions of Americans right now are facing two-, three-, four-hour waits at airports. They’re missing their planes for spring break because the Democrats refuse to pay TSA.

He added, “TSA agents have now missed two paychecks in a row. Over 300 of them have resigned. They had to go get another job because they have to pay their rent and feed their kids,” he said.

Schumer said Dems won’t support funding unless reforms

On Tuesday, March 24, Democratic senators rejected a Republican bill backed by Donald Trump that would have funded most of the Department of Homeland Security but gave only limited funding to ICE.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would not agree to any funding unless their demands for reforms are met first.

These demands include banning masks, changing rules around judicial warrants, and creating a standard code of conduct for immigration officers.

Schumer told reporters, “You know what we’ve called for all along. I’m not going to get into specifics, but we need strong, strong reforms and we need to rein in ICE. We’ve been consistent in what we’ve been asking for from the get-go.”

The Department of Homeland Security also funds several important agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the US Coast Guard.

Because some TSA workers are not being paid during the shutdown, staff shortages are causing long lines at airport security. Some airports are advising travelers to arrive more than four hours before their flights.