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.
GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN AT MIDNIGHT AFTER DEMS, WHITE HOUSE FAIL TO STRIKE DHS DEAL
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.
DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE
“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.
DEMS DIG IN, GUARANTEE SHUTDOWN WITH BLOCK OF DHS FUNDING
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.”
‘It’s absurd’: DHS shutdown bears down on US as lawmakers jet off to Europe 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-02-14 12:00:46 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
