Despite a partial government shutdown without an end in sight, 30 Democratic members of Congress are in Puerto Rico this weekend with their families and lobbyists for a winter retreat in which they planned to see the Broadway show, “Hamilton.”
The group will be headed by Bold Pac president, Democratic congressman Tony Cárdenas (California).
Preliminarily, the group of participants also includes Democratic Senator Robert Menéndez (New Jersey), and fellow Democratic Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (New York), Chairman of the Legal Committee; Ben Luján (Texas), assistant speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rubén Gallego (Arizona), who must be the president of the Subcommittee on Island Affairs; the Dominican Adriano Espaillat (New York); and Puerto Rican Darren Soto (Florida), among others.
Senator Bob Menendez was caught on a beach in Puerto Rico during the visit to the Caribbean island.
In the photo published by CBS News journalist, David Begnaud, the senator is seen in a bathing suit in front of a woman.
The visit has been criticized by a lot of people, including the president, for the closure of the government faced by Americans,
.@SenatorMenendez at the beach in Puerto Rico while he’s there on a work retreat, getting an update on hurricane recovery’s and seeing @HamiltonMusical is why critics are skewering him. The man is entitled to a vacation, but on this trip? during a shutdown? pic.twitter.com/Io0wQJUAxA
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) January 13, 2019
Menéndez, as reported by Begnaud, is in a work retreat in Puerto Rico, where he will be receiving updates of the reconstruction efforts after hurricane Maria and also enjoying the show “Hamilton”.
The senator, whom the federal Department of Justice tried unsuccessfully to prosecute, had already been criticized for coming to Puerto Rico for vacation, especially for a stay at the Governor’s house in Fajardo during the Acevedo Vilá Administration.