House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Tuesday morning that Republican lawmakers won’t back a 2.6 percent cost-of-living-adjustment. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Congress No pay raise for House members after GOP balks

A pay raise for House members won’t happen — at least for now — as Democrats have postponed voting on a congressional spending bill that included the politically risky measure, according to members and aides from both parties.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday morning that Republican lawmakers don’t back the 2.6 percent cost-of-living-adjustment, worth roughly $4,500 annually, according to several sources. House members and senators currently earn $174,000 per year.


With no GOP support, House Democrats have delayed votes on the annual spending bill that funds Congress. The pay raise language is included in that bill.

“The House will not consider the legislative branch appropriations bill this week,” Mariel Saez, a Hoyer spokeswoman, said.

House GOP support for the pay raise evaporated after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told POLITICO last week that he wouldn’t back a pay raise for senators.

With the Senate ruling out such a move, House Republicans decided that they could not vote for the pay raise. Democrats had signaled they would only support the cost of living adjustment if Republicans did, prompting the majority party to delay any action for now.

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“GOP leadership said they didn’t have the votes, but they continue to want to find a way to get the [cost of living adjustment] done. So the House will not consider the leg. branch bill this week,” said a Democratic aide speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It remains unclear if Republicans will ever change their position on a pay raise, dimming its prospects of garnering enough support in Congress to pass.