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Listener John Hatch asks: 

I'm curious about how the president and members of Congress get paid. Do they get a paycheck every week? Do they have direct deposit?

Just like many working Americans, the president of the United States and members of Congress get regular paychecks. 

Even when the government is shut down, they continue to be paid since Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution says they “shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law” and the 27th Amendment says their compensation can’t change until after the next congressional election. 

But not everyone agrees that they should. Republican Rep. Mike Kennedy of Utah recently introduced a bill that would bar Congress members from receiving compensation during a shutdown, while Democratic Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virginia introduced one earlier this year. 

Until any legislation passes, here’s how compensation in the executive and legislative branches currently works: 

Presidential pay

U.S. presidents get paid an annual salary of $400,000, which is paid on a monthly basis, and they also receive $50,000 for non-taxable expenses related to their duties, $100,000 for travel and $19,000 for entertainment. 

Marketplace reached out to two dozen political science experts and former White House employees to find out if the president gets paid via direct deposit, but did not get confirmation by publication time. But according to U.S. Code 3332, we know that “all Federal wage, salary, and retirement payments shall be paid to recipients of such payments by electronic funds transfer,” unless a provision in the law says otherwise.  

President Donald Trump says that he gives away his presidential paychecks, which previous presidents Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy also chose to do. 

“Presidents are legally required to be paid, so ‘not taking’ the money means donating it,” said Andrew Rudalevige, a professor of government at Bowdoin College.

Throughout both terms, Trump has donated his to salary institutions like the White House Historical Association and agencies like the Department of Education, which his administration is trying to dismantle. 

Congressional pay

Senators and House representatives typically make $174,000 a year, although congressional leaders make more. For example, the majority party leader in the Senate collects $193,400 a year and the speaker of the House nets $223,500. (They also get other forms of compensation, like a pension if they’ve served at least five years.) 

Congress members do indeed get this money directly deposited into their bank accounts.

“They go through this period before they're sworn in called new member orientation, and part of that orientation is how to set up their offices and understanding the legislative process and all the things that have to do with being an elected member of Congress,” said J.D. Rackey, an associate director with the Bipartisan Policy Center.  

And during that period, they go through HR onboarding. “They fill out forms just like everyone does when they start a new job. And part of those forms include setting up direct deposit,” Rackey explained. 

Congress members can set up direct deposit to an existing bank account, or they can start an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union located on the hill, Rackey explained. 

As for how frequently they get paid? Senate members receive their paychecks twice a month while House reps get theirs once a month, Rackey said. 

The House’s unusual payment schedule has raised questions

The House’s less frequent payments have been a point of contention. Only 10% of private establishments pay their employees on a monthly basis, making the House’s schedule unusual compared to what the typical U.S. employee 

New House members who arrive on the hill and aren’t as well off as some of their colleagues may struggle before receiving their first paycheck because they don’t receive it until February, Rackey said. 

And while House representatives are paid $174,000, the median salary for a staff assistant is significantly less. In 2023, it stood at about $58,000.

The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, a now-defunct group that researched and proposed ways to reform the House, recommended switching the payroll system to one that operates on a semimonthly basis. 

The committee found that a lot of early-career and mid-career staff were finding it difficult to make ends meet on a once-a-month pay scale, Rackey said. 

But changing the House’s current HR payroll system would be “extremely expensive” and require millions of dollars, said Catherine Szpindor, the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives, at a 2023 congressional hearing that touched on this proposal. 

At that hearing, Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma said she received feedback about changing the House’s payroll system and found that not all staff members are on board with it. “I would have assumed that bimonthly would have been a more popular position, and it was not in fact,” Bice said.  

Those in favor of the current system might find it easier to plan their budget if they just get one monthly lump sum, Rackey explained.