Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) is new to Capitol Hill, but he’s already making waves.
The 34-year-old freshman lawmaker announced Thursday that he has asked the chief administrative officer for the House of Representatives to suspend his pay until the partial government shutdown has ended.
I cannot in good conscience get paid while federal employees’ financial futures hang in the balance because of this partial government shutdown. I’ve asked the Chief Administrative Officer to withhold my pay until we have come to an agreement to adequately fund border security. pic.twitter.com/2g37vAAtx2
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) January 10, 2019
Crenshaw, a U.S. Navy SEAL veteran, supports funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which has motivated the Democrats’ refusal to compromise with President Donald Trump. The shutdown began in December.
3) Walls are necessary, but of course we recognize that they aren’t the only solution. Some places require different methods, as the President’s plan recognizes. Drones, sensors, more patrols, etc. It all works together, and physical barriers are a part of that.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) January 9, 2019
5) Dismissing a wall or fence as an “ineffective” or “4th century” solution is an attempt to undermine the plan without providing any logical reasoning. Don’t succumb to lazy arguments. Let’s think this through, and reopen the government with adequate funding for border security.
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) January 9, 2019
Interestingly, Crenshaw is following the advice of newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a self-avowed Democratic Socialist. She tweeted last month that lawmakers’ salaries “should be furloughed” during a government shutdown.
“Have some integrity,” she added.
Next time we have a gov shutdown, Congressional salaries should be furloughed as well.
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. https://t.co/BgueNNjf0f
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 22, 2018
The 29-year-old representative reportedly refused to reply to an inquiry about her paycheck from The Daily Mail.
Crenshaw first earned national attention during the campaign, when he gracefully responded to an unfair comedy sketch by “Saturday Night Live” host Pete Davidson.
The Texas politician said he didn’t need an apology, pushing back on a culture that encourages people to be “outwardly outraged” about so many things. Not long after the dustup, Crenshaw and Davidson appeared together on “SNL.”