Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) objected to a request by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday for the Senate to immediately consider and pass a bill to pay all federal workers, members of the military and federal contractors during the 2025 government shutdown.
It was one of two Democratic-sponsored bills to pay federal workers during the shutdown that Johnson rejected on the floor.
The True Shutdown Fairness Act, sponsored by Van Hollen, would also prevent the Trump administration from attempting mass layoffs of federal workers during the shutdown, employee restructurings known as reductions in force.
The Military and Federal Employee Protection Act, sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), would allow all military service members, federal employees and contractors to receive the pay that they have missed so far during the shutdown. It would not pay government workers beyond the date of the measure’s enactment.
Johnson blocked both measures, arguing they were too complex to approve by unanimous consent.
Van Hollen’s request came shortly before the Senate was slated to vote on a bill from Johnson to pay active-duty members of the military and other federal employees who have been required to work during the shutdown.
The Maryland Democrat, speaking on the Senate floor, said the best way to take care of federal workers would be to reopen the federal government, and he blasted House Republicans for being “AWOL” and on an extended recess during the shutdown.
“We should not be punishing federal employees for something they had nothing to do with. They’re not responsible. They’re innocent bystanders,” he said.
Johnson noted there was a lot of overlap between Van Hollen’s bill and his own Shutdown Fairness Act.
He suggested Van Hollen support the procedural motion to allow the Senate to proceed to his own bill, so it could be debated and amended — and perhaps even passed — on the Senate floor.
Johnson said simply approving Van Hollen’s bill by unanimous consent without review and debate would not be the right approach.
“Passing it by unanimous consent is not the way to get it done,” he said.
Peters took to the floor right after Van Hollen to offer another proposal to pay federal workers during the shutdown.
Johnson objected to that measure, as well.
Peters’s Military and Federal Employee Protection Act would ensure that military service members, federal employees and federal contractors would receive the paychecks they have missed so far during the shutdown.
The bill would not pay federal employees beyond the date of the measure’s enactment.
Peters’s staff noted that many federal employees have already missed a check and that his bill would fast-track payments, requiring them to be sent out within seven days of the measure’s enactment.
The Michigan Democrat called his proposal “very straightforward.”
He argued that the government is already required by law to pay all federal workers for the time they were furloughed once the shutdown ends.
“What my bill does is very simply just ensure that these workers can now pay their bills that are coming due this month,” he said.
Johnson then rose to the floor to object, even though he noted that he and Peters agree “90 percent” on how to help federal workers.
He urged Peters and other Democrats to vote for the Republican measure, which would pay essential federal workers, including military members, air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents during the shutdown.
Johnson reiterated his argument that it’s “unrealistic” to expect any significant legislation to pass by unanimous consent.
Updated at 5:03 p.m.