A GOP lawmaker was caught raising cash at a swanky steakhouse serving $28 cheeseburgers as Congress faces a looming shutdown deadline.
Virginia Rep. Rob Wittman was filmed leaving The Capital Grille restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue Tuesday, after hosting a fundraiser at the lobbyist-friendly restaurant.
While Wittman, whom Democrats see as politically vulnerable, was working the donor circuit, the federal government barreled towards a shutdown, with Democrats and Republicans deadlocked over dueling funding proposals.
EXCLUSIVE: Vulnerable Republican Rob Wittman was caught fundraising at an expensive D.C. restaurant instead of doing his job to stop a government shutdown.He also claimed Republicans were working today, but they weren’t on the floor. pic.twitter.com/Lq0zwpJ0nk
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 30, 2025
Courting donors at a luxury steakhouse presents awkward optics given that the looming shutdown would suspend the pay of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. President Donald Trump has also threatened to use the shutdown as an opportunity to permanently fire “a lot” of workers.
Outside the steakhouse, where lunch-time entrée options range between $32 and $51, left-wing media company MeidasTouch pressed Wittman on why he was fundraising with the midnight shutdown deadline just hours away.
“We’re in session today so we’re working. I’m just here for a short period of time and then we’re back to work,” replied the 66-year-old congressman, who has served nine full terms in Congress.
However, the House was not in regular session Tuesday, as GOP leaders have canceled voting in the lower chamber to crank up the pressure on Senate Democrats to accept their funding measure, The Hill reports.
The floor opened for three minutes at noon for a “pro forma” session, a typically sparsely attended congressional ritual that Democrats turned into a stunt Tuesday by showing up en masse, making the argument that Republicans are shunning shutdown negotiations. Wittman did not attend the session.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Wittman’s office for comment.
Wittman continued, “So we’re here in Washington, that’s the reason we’re here, is to make sure we are working on to prevent a shutdown,” before shifting blame for the impasse to Democrats.
He said he was “very proud” to have voted for Republicans’ funding extension to keep the government open. Democrats have refused to support the legislation unless it includes changes to health care policy, including enhanced Obamacare subsidies and rolling back recent GOP cuts to Medicaid.
“I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the Senate will find it within their realm to keep the government open. So we’re here working,” Wittman said, the “Capital Grille” sign looming over his shoulders.
A Monday meeting between Trump and Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries failed to yield a breakthrough.
It appears Wittman’s office was aware that holding a fundraiser amid an impending shutdown might prompt second thoughts. Bloomberg Government reported that an earlier reminder for the event included a red-font addendum: “Still On!!”
The Capital Grille is a popular spot for Republicans to raise—and spend—cash. During the 2024 election cycle, Wittman dropped $17,278 at the lobbyist hub, the Washingtonian reported, citing campaign-finance filings.
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