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NFL broadcaster Cris Collinsworth couldn't resist poking fun at the government shutdown while covering the Washington Commanders' defeat to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.
As the game entered the fourth quarter in Washington, NBC's broadcast cut to a picturesque shot of the US Capitol, before Collinsworth drew a laugh out of colleague Mike Tirico by joking about how peaceful it looks.
'There's a calm place,' the former Cincinnati Bengals star said.
The shutdown - which began when Republicans and Democrats could not agree to pass a bill funding government services when the previous federal budget expired on October 1 - is set to enter its sixth week.
However, President Donald Trump said in a recent interview with CBS' '60 Minutes' that he believes the Democrats will eventually give in to his side's demands.
'I think they have to,' Trump said. 'And if they don't vote, it's their problem.'
NFL broadcaster Cris Collinsworth poked fun at the government shutdown on Sunday night
He described the US Capitol as a 'calm place' while covering the Washington Commanders
Donald Trump expects Democrats to give in to Republican demands and end the shutdown
Congress must agree a spending plan to send to the President to be signed into law, with Republicans currently in control of both chambers. Yet in the Senate, they are short of the 60 votes required to pass the bill, handing the Democrats some leverage in negotiations.
Democrats are calling for the bill to include an extension of expiring tax credits that reduce health insurance costs as well as a reversal of Trump's cuts to Medicaid - the government healthcare program used by elderly, disabled and people on low income.
Republicans, however, want to negotiate health insurance subsidies separately while demanding a 'clean resolution.'
After a stopgap bill to avoid the shutdown was passed in the House, it subsequently failed to clear the Senate, meaning the US government shutdown for the first time in almost seven years on October 1.
Collinsworth joked about the peace and quiet in Washington during a heavy loss for the Commanders against the Seahawks, who ran out 38-14 winners on the night.
Sam Darnold enjoyed a superb display for Seattle, registering four touchdown passes in the first half alone. The quarterback completed 21 of his 24 passes for 330 yards in the game.
