diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 596ea4161c..deca89fa11 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { createApp } from "./api/routes";
 import { RateLimiter } from "./auth/rate-limit";
-import { delayUntil, shouldWaitForGitHubRateLimit } from "./github/rate-limit";
+import { delayUntil, shouldWaitForGitHubRateLimit, MAINTENANCE_RESERVED_HEADROOM } from "./github/rate-limit";
 import { processDlqBatch } from "./queue/dlq";
 import { processJob } from "./queue/processors";
 import { isOrbBrokerEnabled } from "./orb/broker";
@@ -60,7 +60,17 @@ async function enqueueScheduledJobs(env: Env, controller: ScheduledController):
   // red-CI non-owner PR CLOSES promptly — reviewbot parity (its cron fired every minute). It re-fetches LIVE CI +
   // mergeable and only ACTS (merge/close/hold); it never re-runs the AI, so it is cheap enough for this cadence.
   // Previously this was gated by `isHourly`, so an approved PR could wait ~an hour for its merge pass.
-  const jobs: JobMessage[] = [{ type: "agent-regate-sweep", requestedBy: "schedule" }];
+  // BACKPRESSURE (#6): the sweep + its per-repo/per-PR fan-out is the heaviest GitHub-budget consumer. When the
+  // shared REST budget is already at/below the maintenance headroom, SKIP enqueuing it this tick so the remaining
+  // budget is reserved for webhooks (which drive timely reviews) instead of compounding the backlog; the next
+  // tick (~2 min) retries, and after the bucket resets the sweep resumes. Webhooks never pre-yield.
+  const jobs: JobMessage[] = [];
+  const sweepThrottledUntil = await shouldWaitForGitHubRateLimit(env, MAINTENANCE_RESERVED_HEADROOM);
+  if (sweepThrottledUntil) {
+    console.log(JSON.stringify({ event: "regate_sweep_throttled", resetAt: sweepThrottledUntil }));
+  } else {
+    jobs.push({ type: "agent-regate-sweep", requestedBy: "schedule" });
+  }
   // Orb relay retry: re-attempt failed forwardOrbEvent calls each sweep cycle. Only enqueued when the
   // broker is enabled — brokered self-hosts register relay URLs; hosted-cloud instances have no relay failures.
   if (isOrbBrokerEnabled(env)) jobs.push({ type: "retry-orb-relay", requestedBy: "schedule" });
diff --git a/test/unit/index.test.ts b/test/unit/index.test.ts
index 63652f018f..4265dfa27c 100644
--- a/test/unit/index.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/index.test.ts
@@ -154,6 +154,20 @@ describe("worker entrypoint", () => {
     expect(sent).toEqual([{ type: "agent-regate-sweep", requestedBy: "schedule" }]);
   });
 
+  it("THROTTLES the sweep when the GitHub REST budget is at/below the maintenance headroom (#6 backpressure)", async () => {
+    const sent: Array<import("../../src/types").JobMessage> = [];
+    const env = createTestEnv({
+      JOBS: { async send(message: import("../../src/types").JobMessage) { sent.push(message); } } as unknown as Queue,
+    });
+    // Seed a low REST observation (remaining 50 <= MAINTENANCE_RESERVED_HEADROOM=150) with a future reset.
+    await recordGitHubRateLimitObservation(env, { repoFullName: "owner/repo", resource: "rest", path: "/x", statusCode: 200, limitValue: 5000, remaining: 50, resetAt: new Date(Date.now() + 600_000).toISOString(), observedAt: new Date().toISOString() });
+    const waitUntil: Promise<unknown>[] = [];
+    await worker.scheduled(controllerFor("2026-05-25T05:14:00.000Z"), env, executionContext(waitUntil));
+    await Promise.all(waitUntil);
+    // The sweep is NOT enqueued this tick — the shared budget is reserved for webhooks; the next tick retries.
+    expect(sent.find((m) => m.type === "agent-regate-sweep")).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
   it("enqueues hourly refreshes without full detail work outside the six-hour window", async () => {
     const sent: Array<import("../../src/types").JobMessage> = [];
     const env = createTestEnv({