Shutdown? WHAT Shutdown? Trump heads out for a 5-day trip to Asia. [View all]
Donald Trump To Leave Country Amid Government Shutdown
The House is on vacation. The Senate is barely working. And the president is getting out of dodge.
By Igor Bobic and Arthur Delaney
Oct 24, 2025, 11:26 AM EDT
WASHINGTON — Judging by the behavior of the country’s leaders, it would be hard to tell the longest-ever full government shutdown was even happening.
The House hasn’t been in session in more than a month, an unprecedented and controversial decision by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to shutter all legislative business amid the standoff.
The Senate is deeply entrenched and barely working, taking doomed votes and leaving town every weekend. And the president is totally disengaged, focusing instead on demolishing parts of the White House complex to build a grand ballroom. He’s set to leave the country on Friday evening for a major five-day trip to Asia.
“All decisions come on the Republican side now from Donald Trump and the fact that Trump’s gonna leave town? What about the whole, like, ‘put America first’ junk?” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Thursday.
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