MAGA-aligned U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has been echoing President Trump as he blames Democrats for the DHS shutdown, is being slammed for writing a letter to the Financial Clerk of the Senate (Ted Ruckner) asking that his salary be held back. Cruz wrote: “It’s not right for Members of Congress to be paid if the working men and women of DHS aren’t.”
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. pic.twitter.com/XCRHdoLC7t
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 24, 2026
Note: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) presented a bipartisan deal — developed by Cruz and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) — to President Trump on Sunday which would fund the DHS, but not ICE. The President refused, saying he would not negotiate with Democrats.
Kennedy told Fox News on Monday that he and Cruz “came up with a plan, a two-step process.”
Kennedy said: “The Democrats offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted [Cruz] and I said, ‘Ok, let’s accept their offer,’ and then at the same time we would offer a bill for reconciliation where we don’t need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE. And that way we’re out of the shutdown and DHS is back open.” Kennedy said Thune submitted that to Trump and added of the President, “As is his right, he said, ‘No. No deals with the Democrats.’ So, we’re back to square one.”
Sen. John Kennedy: “The Democrats offered to open up everything but ICE. Ted and I said, ‘Ok, let’s accept their offer,’ and then at the same time we would offer a bill for reconciliation where we don’t need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE. That way… pic.twitter.com/AeDYYmwfMD
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 23, 2026
Critics of Cruz are responding to his gesture of solidarity with unpaid TSA agents with comments including “the bulk of your income is not your salary” — Cruz is a millionaire — while others point out the irony of sending and paying ICE agents to airports to “help” TSA agents who aren’t getting paid. The DHS workers in limbo will receive backpay when the shutdown ends; it’s not clear if Cruz will seek the same.
Another replied to Cruz’s gesture: “No offense, but I am sick of performative stunts. Do your job.”