With Congress still locked in a funding fight that has left some federal workers without pay, Rep. Robert Garcia spent part of his Sunday sitting at a casino bar inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas, according to photos that surfaced this week. The images are already stirring questions about how lawmakers are spending their off-hours while a partial shutdown drags on.
As reported by TMZ, the pictures show Garcia at the bar with a friend when an amateur photographer approached and asked if he was enjoying himself while federal employees went unpaid. TMZ reports that security moved the photographer away and that Garcia later left the area. Garcia's spokesperson Sara Guerrero told TMZ he was in Las Vegas visiting his father and added, "Republicans chose to continue this shutdown."
Garcia's Long Beach Ties
Garcia represents California's 42nd Congressional District and maintains a Long Beach district office at 415 West Ocean Blvd, according to Robert Garcia. He previously served as mayor of Long Beach. The Vegas snapshots are likely to land with particular force back home, where constituents are watching how their representative spends time away from Washington during a high-stakes funding impasse.
Shutdown Strain On Federal Workers
The partial lapse in Department of Homeland Security funding has forced many frontline DHS employees to work without pay and has created staffing shortages at airports and other services. The Associated Press reports that absence rates among Transportation Security Administration officers climbed into the high single digits on recent days and that hundreds of officers have quit since the funding lapse began in mid-February. Senators from both parties have been working on piecemeal fixes to restore portions of DHS funding as delays and service issues pile up.
Unions and airport officials say the staffing squeeze has very real consequences for workers and travelers. "Ask me if somebody's gonna eat today," Hydrick Thomas, president of AFGE Local 100, told reporters, per Associated Press.
Garcia's office says the Las Vegas trip was personal and that he is ready to return to work. Critics counter that the optics are tough at a moment when federal workers are missing paychecks. The photos are likely to fuel scrutiny on both sides of the aisle as lawmakers debate how, and how quickly, to end the stalemate in Washington.
