Speed Reads

What impending government shutdown?

Trump will celebrate his inauguration anniversary Saturday with a glitzy Mar-a-Lago gala

President Trump isn't going to let a looming government shutdown get in the way of his $100,000-per-couple inauguration anniversary extravaganza.

The celebration is set for Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and the ticket covers dinner and a photograph with Trump. To have the chance to take part in a roundtable with Trump and talk about who knows what, the price bumps up to $250,000 a pair. The event is hosted by Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and casino owner and RNC finance chairman Steve Wynn, and it will benefit Trump's re-election campaign and the RNC. (The invitation left off the Romney part of McDaniel's name, Bloomberg notes, the part she shares with uncle and Trump critic Mitt.)

While workers rush to get Mar-a-Lago ready for the jubilee, Washington is struggling to pass a short-term spending bill that keeps the government open past Friday. The House passed a stopgap measure, but the bill's fate in the Senate remains uncertain, and senators won't gather to vote until 11 a.m. Friday. A person close to Trump told Bloomberg his advisers think the Senate will pass a bill and Trump won't be needed in D.C.