(CNN) The end-of-the-year chaos consuming the Capitol over a possible government shutdown was captured fittingly Friday when senators who had been abruptly called for a meeting with the President to try to end the standoff found they couldn't get into the White House.

A Christmas tree in a cart is physically removed from Cornyn's office, a kind of symbol of the holidays being stolen from the Capitol as the country faces a potential partial shutdown.

In all the haste, no one had told the Secret Service they were coming.

"Things are so chaotic at the White House that some Republican senators can't get in because Secret Service didn't even have time to clear them (or the staff who is driving them there!)," a source who asked not to be identified told CNN.

But getting back might not be easy -- or even doable -- for some, as one of the busiest travel days combined with bad storms across much of the country led to the arrivals board at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport glowing red with delays.

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