Jim Clyburn has spent 33 years in Congress helping Democrats obliterate Americans’ pocket books.
In 2020 the media fawning over the South Carolina Democrat as some kind of historic powerbroke grew utterly disillusional when he backed Joe Biden in the primary, but it worked and sealed the nomination for Biden.
That move had disastrous consequences on Americans, especially on our purchasing power.
And now, after helping run America up to an over $38 trillion national debt, Clyburn, Steny Hoyer, and a group of current and former members of Congress want a raise for it.
What Clyburn, Hoyer, and company just demanded in federal court will make your blood boil.
Congressional Pay Raise Lawsuit Targets Taxpayers for Back Pay
Clyburn, Hoyer, and a group of current and former members of Congress filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, demanding retroactive pay going back years.
Their legal theory: every time Congress voted to freeze its own salary since 1992, it broke the law.
The 27th Amendment – originally drafted by James Madison in 1789, left dormant for two centuries, and finally ratified in 1992 – was built around a simple principle: lawmakers cannot change their own compensation until voters have had a chance to weigh in at the polls.
Clyburn and Hoyer have inverted that entirely.
They now argue the amendment obligates taxpayers to cut them checks – $418,796 each, according to court filings – for every year Congress held the line at $174,000.
The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates the total liability could reach tens of millions if other members who served during the eligible period pile on as a class action.
And the pension exposure goes further still.
Congressional pensions are calculated off a member's highest salary years. A favorable court ruling could trigger a cascade of former members petitioning for recalculated, higher retirement benefits – a long-tail taxpayer hit that dwarfs the back pay itself.
One Republican – Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas – is also a plaintiff.
That tells you everything about how Washington actually works. This isn't a Democrat scheme. It's a career-politician scheme. Crawford has been in Congress since 2011 and apparently decided $174,000 a year wasn't sufficient either.
Congress Tried This Salary Grab Before and Got Humiliated
America has seen this play before.
In 1873, the 42nd Congress passed what became known as the "Salary Grab Act" – a law handing members a retroactive $7,500 pay raise for work they'd already done.
The public fury was immediate.
State legislatures passed resolutions demanding a constitutional amendment to stop Congress from ever doing it again. Ohio even ratified Madison's original dormant pay amendment – the one sitting ignored since 1789 – specifically to register their outrage.
Congress ultimately repealed the Salary Grab Act.
The lesson was supposed to be permanent: you don't get to reach back into the treasury for money voters never approved.
Clyburn and Hoyer didn't learn it.
One Congressman Is Fighting to Stop the Congressional Pay Grab
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina – who is running for governor – didn't mince words.
"Corrupt Washington politicians, including Democrat James E. Clyburn are suing for retroactive congressional pay raises that could cost taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars," Norman wrote on social media. "With $38 TRILLION in debt, Congress doesn't deserve a raise! Enough is enough!"
Norman has introduced legislation to permanently eliminate automatic pay adjustments for members of Congress – dismantling the COLA structure the entire lawsuit rests on.
His statement goes further.
"Congress is the only place in America where you can fail the people you represent and still expect a raise," Norman said. "That's not public service. That's a broken system."
He's right.
Congress voted to block its own pay raises 23 times since 1992. Those weren't constitutional violations – they were the rare moments Washington exercised self-restraint. Now Clyburn and Hoyer want to punish taxpayers for that restraint.
The case has advanced through the courts, with an early ruling already limiting back pay claims to those dating from 2018 onward.
If the remaining claims succeed, every member who served during that window could opt in.
Clyburn has been in Congress since 1993. Hoyer since 1981.
Do the math.
Clyburn and Hoyer Want $418,000 Each While America Drowns in Debt
Here's what every taxpaying American needs to understand.
These aren't struggling workers fighting for a living wage. These are career politicians who earned $174,000 a year – guaranteed, recession-proof, fully pensioned – while the people they represent lost jobs, watched inflation eat their savings, and got handed the bill for every dime of that $38 trillion debt.
Hoyer has been in Congress for 45 years. Clyburn for 33.
They had decades to cut spending, reform Washington, and leave this country better than they found it.
Instead they lawyered up and sued you for more.
In 1873, at least Congress had the decency to repeal the Salary Grab Act when voters made their outrage known.
Clyburn and Hoyer are betting the courts will give them what they know voters never would.
Make sure those voters prove them wrong.
Sources:
- Nicholas Ballasy, "Congressional lawmakers are suing to try to win retroactive pay raises, and drawing scorn," Just the News, March 8, 2026.
- Demian Brady, "While Debt Soars, Some Lawmakers Seek Retroactive Salary Hikes in Federal Court," National Taxpayers Union Foundation, February 19, 2026.
- Ryan Tarinelli, "Crawford, former members argue in court for back pay," Roll Call, August 23, 2024.
