As the U.S. government shutdown continues, both political parties agree that, while programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will be halted, military operations and drone attacks overseas should continue unabated.

This is prompting outrage from critics who wonder when the nation will have a real conversation about the failure—and the expense—of U.S. foreign policy.

“It is emblematic of the problem that we face that Republicans and Democrats are having a face-off about government shutdown, but they both agree to exempt the military,” Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy told Common Dreams. “There is not any discussion about that. Everyone agrees that the partial government shutdown exempts the military, exempts war, and now we are going to fight about everything else.”

On Tuesday, just one minute into the federal shutdown, Obama released a statement to the U.S. military in which he vowed to continue funding for their ongoing operations. “Those of you in uniform will remain on your normal duty status. The threats to our national security have not changed, and we need you to be ready for any contingency,” he declared. “Ongoing military operations, like our efforts in Afghanistan, will continue.”

Additionally, the U.S. military will continue its covert drone attacks the shutdown, with The New York Times reporting “there is no doubt that drones operated by the Air Force, at least, will continue to fly”