Congressional Silence Speaks Volumes: New York Lawmakers Duck Questions on Pay While DHS Workers Go Unpaid

Over 100,000 Department of Homeland Security employees are working without paychecks—yet nearly every member of New York’s congressional delegation is hiding behind a wall of silence when asked whether they’re still cashing their six-figure salaries.

The answer couldn’t be clearer. Their silence is their answer.

For the second consecutive week, TSA screeners, Coast Guard members, and FEMA personnel have watched their bank accounts remain empty while performing the essential work of keeping Americans safe. Meanwhile, the very lawmakers responsible for this mess continue drawing $174,000 annual salaries—and they won’t even have the courage to admit it publicly.

The Deafening Sound of Silence

Out of 28 members of New York’s congressional delegation contacted, only two bothered to respond. Let that sink in.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) was the sole lawmaker who took the principled stand of refusing his paycheck during the shutdown. His office confirmed a longstanding policy of declining pay when the government fails to function.

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) responded but dodged the central question entirely, offering instead a word salad about “meaningful bipartisan reforms” without addressing whether she’s accepting payment while federal workers suffer.

The remaining 26 members—including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and all seven Republican House members from New York—simply refused to respond. That includes high-profile figures like Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Their silence is calculated. It’s cowardice. And it’s exactly what’s wrong with Washington.

Democrats Holding DHS Hostage

This isn’t a both-sides failure. Democrats are explicitly holding DHS funding hostage to impose restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents—the very officers working to secure our border and enforce immigration law.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who has donated his entire Senate salary since taking office, didn’t mince words: “Why would Chuck Schumer and Democrats who continuously shut down government think their own paychecks are more important than the members of the Coast Guard and TSA agents who keep families safe every single day?”

It’s a question Schumer won’t answer because he can’t answer it honestly.

The Democratic playbook here is transparent: Obstruct border enforcement, then demand “guardrails” on ICE agents as ransom for funding the very department charged with national security. Meanwhile, they pocket their paychecks without a second thought.

Republicans Offering Solutions

While Democrats play political games, Republican senators are putting forward concrete legislation to end this congressional hypocrisy.

Sen. Rick Scott’s No Budget, No Pay Act would prevent members of Congress from receiving salaries until they pass both a budget resolution and all appropriations bills. The concept is simple: If you can’t do the basic job you were elected to do, you don’t deserve to be paid.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) introduced the SHUTDOWN Act, which would impose daily tax penalties on members of Congress during government shutdowns. “Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries want to get paid for shutting the government down,” Moreno stated bluntly. “That’s ridiculous. If Congress can’t do the bare minimum, we don’t deserve a paycheck.”

Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) took immediate action, formally requesting that the Senate financial clerk withhold his salary until the shutdown ends. “I cannot in good conscience accept a paycheck while TSA officers, FEMA personnel and Coast Guard members are about to miss theirs,” Husted declared.

This is leadership. This is accountability. This is what putting country before personal gain looks like.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Approximately 120,000 DHS employees are currently working without pay, forced to choose between protecting America and paying their mortgages. These aren’t political appointees or bureaucratic paper-pushers—they’re frontline workers screening passengers at airports, rescuing Americans in distress at sea, and responding to natural disasters.

Meanwhile, roughly 140,000 DHS employees continue receiving paychecks, including immigration and law enforcement officials funded through last summer’s appropriations legislation. The disparity is stark and reveals the political motivations behind Democratic obstruction.

This marks the third DHS shutdown this fiscal year alone—a pattern of dysfunction that would be unacceptable in any private-sector organization but somehow persists in Congress.

The Hypocrisy of Selective Outrage

The same Democratic lawmakers who shed crocodile tears over “working families” and “essential workers” apparently believe those principles don’t apply when they’re the ones collecting unearned paychecks.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who built her political brand on championing workers’ rights, couldn’t be bothered to respond about whether she’s accepting pay while TSA agents work for free. Hakeem Jeffries, who demands body cameras on ICE agents conducting deportations, won’t say if he’s withholding his own compensation during a crisis his caucus helped create.

The contempt for working Americans couldn’t be more obvious.

Accountability Starts with Transparency

Every member of Congress should be required to publicly state whether they’re accepting their salary during government shutdowns. The fact that this even requires asking reveals how disconnected our political class has become from the Americans they supposedly serve.

New Yorkers deserve to know whether their representatives are profiting from governmental dysfunction. Voters across the country deserve this basic transparency from every elected official.

When Coast Guard members are wondering how to feed their families, when TSA agents are showing up to work without knowing when they’ll be paid, when FEMA personnel are sacrificing their financial security to serve their country—Congress should feel that pain too.

But they don’t. And most of them don’t even have the decency to admit it.

The 2026 midterms are coming. Voters should remember which lawmakers had the integrity to sacrifice alongside federal workers—and which ones hid behind silence while cashing their checks.