Elizabeth Warren Pledges Salary To HIAS As Long As Government Is Shut Down
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Image by Getty Images
By Ron Kampeas January 2, 2019
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Days after launching a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren pledged her salary to HIAS, the Jewish immigration advocacy group, as long as the government is shut down.
“Over 7,000 people in Massachusetts have been sent home or are working without pay during the #TrumpShutdown,” Warren said Tuesday, New Year’s Day, on Twitter. “Until @realDonaldTrump re-opens the government, I’m donating my salary to @HIASrefugees, a nonprofit that helps refugees and makes our country stronger in the process.”
Trump has sworn not to sign a funding bill until Congress agrees to fund a wall with Mexico, which is unlikely with Democrats controlling the U.S. House of Representatives in the new Congress. As a result, the government is entering its second week of a shutdown, keeping hundreds of thousands of workers at home. Trump wants the wall to slow illegal immigration.
Congress members and their staffs, separate from the executive branch, are not affected by the shutdown.
HIAS has taken a lead among groups opposing Trump’s immigration restrictions, including initiating and joining lawsuits against some of the president’s policies.
Warren launched her bid for the presidency in the waning days of 2018.
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