US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have taken an unusual stroll to a sandwich shop down the street from the White House, a photo opportunity designed to show their solidarity for workers laid off due to a government shutdown.

Obama also seized the opportunity to respond to an embarrassing quote from an unnamed White House official that Republicans have used to their advantage in the battle over who is to blame for hundreds of thousands of people going without pay checks.

Obama said there¡¯s no winning when families don¡¯t have certainty over whether they¡¯re going to get paid or not. He added that Republicans had the power to end the shutdown if they would only take a vote in the House of Representatives.

"This shutdown could be over today. We know there are the votes for it in the House of Representatives. And as I said yesterday, if Speaker Boehner will simply allow that vote to take place, we can end this shutdown. A whole bunch of families, not just here in Washington, but all across the country will have the certainty that a paycheck will be coming, that they¡¯ll be able to make their mortgage, that they¡¯ll be able to pay their expenses, that they¡¯ll be able to look after their families, and we can get back to what we should be focused on every single day and that¡¯s how we make sure that we¡¯ve got a strong middle class in this country and anybody who¡¯s willing to work hard can get ahead." Barack Obama said.