Nikki Haley Calls for Congress Pay to Be Paused If Government Shuts Down

GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley on Wednesday called for members of Congress to have their pay suspended if the government shuts down at the end of the month.

"If government shuts down, Congress should not be paid. You don't pay any single congressional member if you're going to go and allow this embarrassment to happen," the former South Carolina governor told Fox Business' Stuart Varney.

Members of Congress get paid during a shutdown because their pay is not part of the bill to fund the federal government. According to the Constitution, members of Congress are paid from the Treasury and the 27th Amendment states pay won't be changed during a current term.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., similarly called for members of Congress to have their pay furloughed during a federal shutdown.

Asked if she was on the side of protesting Freedom Caucus members demanding more spending cuts as the end of the fiscal year looms, Haley said spending cuts should be a priority.

"It's not difficult to cut spending," she said.

A number of Republicans have demanded more spending cuts and pushed back against a continuing resolution, but Haley said if a federal budget is not passed, all of Congress deserves the blame.

"Doing your job is balancing the budget. They don't do that," she said.