Week Ahead in Washington: February 15

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Members of Congress will not be on Capitol Hill this week despite a partial government shutdown beginning Saturday morning.

Lawmakers are taking their traditional President’s Day week recess despite funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsing after they failed to reach an agreement on the agency’s budget.

The shutdown comes as Democrats are demanding guardrails on ICE and Border Patrol operations.

The partial shutdown will affect agencies including the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations are largely funded through money from the Big Beautiful Bill Act President Donald Trump signed into law July 4, 2025.

The nation’s governors head to Washington this week for the National Governors Association meetings.

This year’s visit has been met with controversy as Trump initially only invited Republican governors to the White House for what’s been a traditionally bipartisan meeting.

He then reversed course and invited every governor, though he did exclude two governors from the annual White House dinner — Colorado’s Jared Polis and Maryland’s Wes Moore. Both Democrats have clashed with the president.

Thursday, Trump is set to host the first official Board of Peace meeting.

He created the board to oversee the Gaza peace plan. More than 20 countries are expected to participate, however many NATO allies have declined invitations to join.