Dem lawmaker busted on camera slipping into bash with reality TV stars as Americans feel shutdown pain
A Democratic U.S. congressman was caught on camera sneaking in through the side entrance of a premiere watch party for "The Real Housewives of Rhode Island" as the federal government's partial shutdown creeps towards 50 days.
Fox News Digital was on hand Thursday night when Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., attempted to stealthily make his way into the event, where he rubbed elbows with the cast of the new show. The first episode of Bravo's Ocean State-centered season of the massively successful "Real Housewives" franchise aired at 9:00 p.m.
Magaziner co-hosted the event with Democrat state lawmakers Rep. Jackie Baginski and Sen. Hanna Gallo.
He was spotted in a blue jacket and white collared shirt hobnobbing and posing for photos with cast members and other event attendees.
Gallo posted an open invite to the posh party on her Facebook page on March 21. The event began at 7:30 p.m. at the upscale Elliotte on Park in the town of Cranston, featuring hors d'oeuvres, specialty cocktails and door prizes.
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"I can't wait to see our state in the spotlight, and remember ... bring a friend, bring the drama!" Gallo's invite said.
At the time of the invite, Congress was furiously bickering over a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, as Democrats refused to allocate funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Ultimately, the legislature agreed to partially fund DHS a week ago, and members of both parties hastily jetted off for a spring recess. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was hit hard by the shutdown, and consequently, American travelers were saddled with hours-long lines at airports nationwide.
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Some TSA employees received their first paychecks in a month-and-a-half on Thursday, while Americans prepare to travel en masse for the Easter and Passover holidays.
Massive lines at LaGuardia Airport persisted on Thursday.
"Representative Magaziner believes it is outrageous that Speaker Johnson continues to refuse to call the house back from recess," Magaziner's office told Fox News Digital on Friday. "In the meantime, he will continue to hold events in meetings in his district with his constituents."
The federal immigration enforcement agencies, along with the Coast Guard, Secret Service and other DHS entities remain unfunded while lawmakers galavant nationwide.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. was spotted at Disney World earlier this week, and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the influential House Oversight Committee, at a casino bar in Las Vegas.
The White House has urged Congress to return from recess to finish the funding process.
"Nothing will be truly normal again until Democrats do the right thing to fund this agency fully again," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Monday's daily press briefing. "The president has stepped in — in the meantime to do what's right to end this crisis that we've had at air travel, at airports across the country in the meantime.
"But again, Congress needs to come back. Democrats need to fund the Department of Homeland Security so we can formally and fully get these great employees paid long into the future."
Fox News' Eric Mack contributed to this report.