Freshly sworn-in Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw is not just talking the talk, but walking the walk. The popular Texas congressman announced Thursday that he will not be taking a paycheck until the security at the southern border is properly funded and the government shutdown ends.
“I cannot in good conscience get paid while federal employees’ financial futures hang in the balance because of this partial government shutdown,” wrote Crenshaw on Twitter. “I’ve asked the Chief Administrative Officer to withhold my pay until we have come to an agreement to adequately fund border security.”
Interestingly, one of the first public figures to suggest congressional members furlough their pay during a shutdown was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), though she has yet to make any announcement about furloughing her own pay.
“Next time we have a gov shutdown, Congressional salaries should be furloughed as well,” she wrote in a December tweet. “It’s completely unacceptable that members of Congress can force a government shutdown on partisan lines & then have Congressional salaries exempt from that decision. Have some integrity.”
It’s unclear if the democratic socialist has actually taken the step to reject her paychecks as Crenshaw has.
In fact, when she was asked about this by reporters from The New York Post, she refused to answer, telling them, “I’ve gotta run!” She has also refused to respond to other media inquiries into her paycheck status.
Since his paycheck announcement, Crenshaw has reiterated on Twitter that the “best solution is still reopening government with adequate funding for border.” In a subsequent tweet, Crenshaw wrote, “Dems won’t negotiate even one dollar, and they are holding federal workers hostage as a result.”
Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL now representing Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, lost his eye in an IED explosion during his third deployment in Afghanistan. He quickly became a household name when he offered a grace-filled response to “Saturday Night Live” comedian Pete Davidson mocking his war injury. Davidson said the Texan looked “like a hitman in a porno movie,” adding, “I’m sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.”
Crenshaw amazingly served two more deployments after suffering significant injuries from the explosion.