During private lunch, GOP senators express frustration over shutdown

Sen. Mitch McConnell. — (Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Several Republican senators grumbled to Vice President Mike Pence about the government shutdown on Thursday, letting him know they were ready for it to be over, The Washington Post reports.

Pence and the senators were at a private lunch, and the shutdown was the hot topic. "There was a lot of frustration expressed about the situation we find ourselves in," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told the Post. While Pence told the senators there are plans under consideration, he didn't offer up any concrete solutions, the Post reports.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) shared with his frustrated fellow GOP lawmaker a saying he likes to trot out during government shutdowns: "There is no education in the second kick of a mule." Two Republicans with knowledge of the lunch said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) confronted McConnell, telling him, "This is your fault." In response, McConnell said, "Are you suggesting I'm enjoying this?" A spokesman for Johnson told the Post he was just upset that two opposing Senate bills to reopen the government failed, and he wasn't blaming McConnell. Read more about the squabble at The Washington Post.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.