“We’ve passed our CR,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said in an interview following an hourlong House GOP leadership meeting. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo House Republicans stay in D.C. after all

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he'd send lawmakers home for a weeklong recess Friday morning, daring Senate Democrats to oppose a House-passed spending bill just hours before a shutdown deadline.

But that tough talk quickly fade after other Republicans complained about the appearance of leaving town on the cusp of a closure. By early Friday evening, Republicans were still sitting in their offices, eager to receive marching orders from their leaders on how to keep the government open.


"I’m not leaving town if the government shuts down…. I think it would be a bad move," said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

McCarthy, upon exiting an hourlong House GOP leadership meeting, told POLITICO that the House would head home for its previously scheduled weeklong recess because it had already done its job.

“We’ve passed our CR,” McCarthy said, referring to a bill to keep the government open until Feb. 16.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats oppose the measure because they want a resolution to decide the fate of 700,000 Dreamers, or those brought illegally to the United States as children.

“Sen. Schumer needs to decide if he wants a shutdown,” McCarthy said, adding that he and House GOP leaders do not support a “very short term” CR of four to five days."

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House Democrats protested the decision, saying members should stay put while a shutdown crisis looms.

“Every year the Republicans plan the January schedule so that they can go to Davos," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a statement, referring to a meeting of global leaders in Switzerland. "They want to spend next week hobnobbing with their elitist friends instead of honoring their responsibilities to the American people.”

But Republicans ended up not skipping town.

"I do not think it would look good for us," said Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). "No, that would be dumb."

GOP leaders eventually changed their guidance to members, telling them to "remain in town and available for possible additional procedural votes."