The Senate showdown over pay for federal workers and the military sharpened this week, with Republicans trying and failing to force a solution while Democrats dug in. A modified bill to guarantee pay during shutdowns was brought up and defeated, highlighting the clash over leverage, policy riders, and political priorities. The disagreement included a few Democratic defections but ultimately fell along party lines, leaving paychecks and a 38-day shutdown unresolved. Tensions rose as leadership sparred and a counteroffer anchored to healthcare subsidies surfaced.
Republicans pushed a straightforward message: federal employees and service members should not go without pay because of political fights. Sen. Ron Johnson introduced a version of the Shutdown Fairness Act aimed at paying federal workers now and protecting pay during future shutdowns. The vote collapsed 53-43 despite three Democrats crossing over in support: Georgia Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico.
Johnson said he had adjusted the bill after discussions with Senate Democrats so it would cover furloughed workers, and he touted backing from several federal employee unions. The change was meant to answer prior objections and remove excuses for delay. That outreach and the union support did not sway enough senators to pass the measure.
“They are sick and tired, being used as pawns in this political dysfunction here. They’re tired of it,” Johnson said, putting the human cost front and center. Republicans argued the issue is simple and urgent: keep paychecks flowing and stop using workers as leverage in larger fights. The language hit a chord with voters who see payrolls as nonpartisan essentials, not bargaining chips.
On the Senate floor, the debate turned sharp when Senate Majority Leader John Thune and others raised concerns about the mechanics and consequences of unilateral fixes. Some Democrats had initially objected over whether the bill gave the president discretion to decide who gets paid. The procedural battles and questions over executive authority helped tilt the chamber back toward gridlock.
Thune framed the fight as a moral choice about the impact on ordinary Americans, calling out the tactics he said look like political leverage rather than governance. “It’s about leverage, isn’t it? Isn’t that what y’all have been saying? It’s about leverage,” Thune said. His comments underscored the GOP argument that using the budget to gain advantage harms people who rely on steady paychecks.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats rolled out their own offer aimed at reopening the government, coupling votes with a one-year extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies. The proposal was presented as a package to secure Democratic support for a short-term reopening, though Republicans rejected it as unacceptable policy trading. That exchange sharpened the divide: Republicans focused on immediate payroll relief, Democrats insisted on attaching policy priorities.
SCHUMER, DEMS UNVEIL ALTERNATIVE SHUTDOWN PLAN, ASK FOR ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
The competing approaches left the chamber circling back to a familiar spot: the House-passed continuing resolution. Senate Republicans had hoped to put that CR to a vote again, but stronger Democratic unity after a recent election victory thwarted bipartisan compromise. The Senate scheduled another vote, the 15th on that House plan, with the outcome still uncertain and shutdown pain continuing for employees and veterans.
Practical consequences are piling up as the standoff drags on, and Republican leaders kept pressing the moral argument that payrolls should be off-limits. They cast Democratic resistance as a choice to prioritize policy leverage over people. With the Senate poised to reconvene and votes expected to repeat, the political theater looks set to continue while workers wait for answers.
THUNE SAYS ‘WHEELS CAME OFF’ AS REPUBLICANS MULL NEXT SHUTDOWN MOVE
