Joe Biden Shops at Brooks Brothers During Shutdown, Debt Talks
![](http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/HT_joe_biden_brooks_brothers_lpl_131014_16x9_608.jpg)
(Melissa Romero)
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.