The government entered a partial shutdown at midnight Friday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal — and some lawmakers’ decision to attend an international gathering in Europe this weekend is drawing criticism from colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
‘It’s absurd, I hope the American people are paying attention,’ Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.
The deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the end of the week came with a built-in complication: members of both chambers were scheduled to attend the annual Munich Security Conference, with many set to depart by day’s end Thursday.
Without a deal in place, Congress left Washington, D.C., on Thursday after the Senate failed to pass both a full-year funding bill for DHS and a temporary, two-week funding extension.
At midnight Friday — with several lawmakers already in Germany — DHS shut down.
Both Republican leaders warned members to be prepared to return if a deal was reached. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., gave senators 24 hours’ notice to return, while House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., allowed a 48-hour window.
Despite the conference being scheduled months in advance, some lawmakers said leaving Washington — or even the country — during an active funding standoff sent the wrong message.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., arguing that Democrats blocked Republican-led efforts to prevent a partial DHS shutdown.
‘Schumer’s what’s deciding this,’ Scott told Fox News Digital. ‘I mean, he’s deciding that he’s more interested in people going to Munich than he is in funding DHS.’
Several lawmakers from both chambers are attending the conference, participating in side discussions and panels during the annual forum, where heads of state and top decision-makers gather to debate international security policy.
Members of the House expressed frustration that senators would leave amid stalled negotiations between Senate Democrats and the White House.
‘The Senate started out a week ago saying, ‘I don’t think anybody should leave town,’’ Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., told Fox News Digital. ‘Now they’re doing the Munich thing. At least [the House] sent a bill over…not a great pride moment for the federal government, is it?’
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., led a bipartisan delegation of 11 senators to the conference.
When asked whether the shutdown would affect his travel plans, Whitehouse said, ‘I hope not.’
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who was scheduled to participate in a panel with Graham titled ‘The State of Russia,’ according to the conference agenda, said lawmakers should have resolved outstanding issues before leaving town.
‘I’m not delighted with Republican resistance and unresponsiveness, but it’s on them at this point,’ Blumenthal said.
House rules prohibit official congressional delegations, also known as CODELs, during a shutdown. Still, several House members made the trip to Bavaria. At least a handful of House Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attended the conference.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said during a hearing on the impact of a DHS shutdown that it would be ‘unconscionable if Congress leaves and does not solve the problem.’
‘I’m sure Munich is a great place. I’ve been there many times. The beer is outstanding,’ Cole said. ‘But we don’t need to go to a defense conference someplace in Europe when we’re not taking care of the defense of the United States of America.’
Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations throughout the weekend while many are abroad. Senate Democrats have signaled they may present a counteroffer to the White House but have not finalized a proposal.
If an agreement is reached, it would still take time to draft the legislative text and bring the measure to the Senate floor. Even so, some lawmakers argued that stepping away from negotiations — whether returning home or traveling overseas — was the wrong move.
‘I’ve been pretty outspoken to say we need to stay as long as we have to be here to be able to get things resolved so we don’t ever have a shutdown,’ Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital.
‘That’s the easiest way to resolve it is to say ‘no one walks away from the table,’’ he added. ‘We stay at the table.’
Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital the situation reflects poorly on GOP leadership’s handling of funding priorities, though he acknowledged the significance of the international conference.
‘There’s a certain irony that we would not be here to fund essential services of our government, but we have enough time and energy to go to the Munich Security Conference, which admittedly is a very important international gathering,’ Morelle said. ‘But I think it says a lot about the lack of leadership…we can’t do the fundamentals of this job.’
