Story perspectives

Trump Ends 75-Day DHS Shutdown After Senate 99-0 Pay Vote

5/15/2026

Left

Trump Ends Shutdown

During the 43-day shutdown, 670,000 federal workers were furloughed while members of Congress kept receiving salaries.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana introduced a pay-withholding resolution, and the Senate approved it unanimously 99-0.
President Donald Trump signed a bill funding Homeland Security, ending the longest agency shutdown.
During the 75-day DHS shutdown, TSA agents, Coast Guard members and others worked without pay.

Right

Senate Escrows Pay

Senators’ paychecks will be placed in escrow during any future shutdown, marking the Senate’s first step to withhold legislators’ salaries.
The Senate adopted the measure unanimously, a 99-0 vote, to hold all senators’ salaries in escrow until a shutdown ends.
Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer backed the resolution, showing bipartisan support.
The rule will not take effect until after the November 2026 election to satisfy 27th Amendment.

Blindspot

Right coverage highlighted bipartisan backing from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, a detail not mentioned in Left coverage.
Right coverage noted that the escrow rule will not take effect until after the November 2026 election to satisfy the 27th Amendment, which Left coverage omitted.

History

Historical Context

In November 1995, after Republicans seized both chambers in the 1994 midterms, President Bill Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich clashed over spending cuts, triggering a 21-day shutdown that furloughed about 800,000 federal workers. The episode followed the 1980 Civiletti opinion that made shutdowns mandatory and set a precedent for later pay-withholding measures such as the 2023 DHS impasse.

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Trump Ends Shutdown

During the 43-day shutdown, 670,000 federal workers were furloughed while members of Congress kept receiving salaries.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana introduced a pay-withholding resolution, and the Senate approved it unanimously 99-0.
President Donald Trump signed a bill funding Homeland Security, ending the longest agency shutdown.
During the 75-day DHS shutdown, TSA agents, Coast Guard members and others worked without pay.

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