Republicans jet off as DHS runs out of money

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Republican lawmakers dumped the problem in the White House’s lap and left the Capitol as a midnight deadline for DHS funding looms. Their weeklong recess abandons the standoff over ICE and leaves it to White House negotiators and Democratic lawmakers to solve.

The Capitol emptied out on Thursday, a full day before the midnight Friday deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers who were deadlocked over new restrictions on immigration officers jetted off to Munich for a security conference or headed home for a weeklong recess, seemingly unconcerned with the looming closure. It was a jarring change from the past, when lawmakers were reluctant to seem like they were giving up for even a moment before time ran out for a deal.

“We are not even going to pretend that we are trying to figure it out,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, one of those bound for Germany. “It doesn’t look great.”

The blasé attitude reflected a conviction on the part of both parties that they were in the stronger political position in this round of the shutdown wars.

As TSA agents and other DHS workers brace to work without pay, the GOP delegation has bailed confident that the blame won’t fall on them. Lucky for them, they got out before the airports were crippled.