Kansas congressman Ron Estes said Thursday he will be withholding his salary because of the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Estes made the announcement after a vote by U.S. House Democrats to defeat a Republican motion to allow federal workers affected by the shutdown to receive their January paycheck.

Estes issued a statement saying that he has called on Democrats in Congress to negotiate with President Trump on border security and the reopening of government.  He accused Democrats of not being serious about negotiations and he said they are willing to use federal workers as pawns.  He called on Democratic leaders to come to the table and address border security issues.

Estes sent a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives, asking for the withholding of his paycheck.