On day 15 of the government shutdown, a U.S. senator held a well-attended birthday party for his bulldog in the Capitol and President Donald Trump gathered some of the richest people in the country for dinner at the White House.

The business-as-usual nature for elected officials in Washington, and some of their aides, is in contrast to the of experience thousands of federal workers who are furloughed — or fired — and trying to stay afloat without paychecks. It also solidifies what now seems to be a bygone era of government shutdowns — one when elected officials wouldn’t want to be caught anywhere near parties or other nonessential indulgences.