Vice President Joe Biden was spotted taking a quick trip to a Brooks Brothers store in D.C. Monday afternoon.

Biden, along with his Secret Service detail and motorcade drew quite a bit of attention at the store, which is just blocks from the White House.

While Biden shopped, in other parts of Washington, lawmakers struggled to hammer out details of a deal that could end the government shutdown and raise the debt limit.

His absence in those negotiations is a departure from the last time a deal needed to be struck over the debt limit and Biden was a key player who eventually brokered the compromise.

Ran into Joe Biden shopping at the Brooks Brothers below the office when leaving work http://t.co/BS86wgDT4M

— David Zhou (@dz) October 14, 2013

This also isn't the first time Biden has slipped out for a mid-week shopping trip. During a 2010 jaunt, his visit shut down the store (and some traffic) during rush hour.