As Washington dragged into its fourth weekend of gridlock during the government shutdown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski was in Chicago.
The Alaska Republican had a previously scheduled speaking engagement at the University of Chicago on Saturday, which was Day 25 of the shutdown. She explained to reporters when she was back on Capitol Hill Monday — Day 27 — that the event was an opportunity to speak with young people. She said she was just “doing what I do as a senator.”
Then she paused.