Around the time Vice President broke a tie in a Senate vote to move ahead with the discussing the spending bill envisaging funding for US President Donald Trump's border wall, an unidentified man set out climbing the National Christmas Tree just outside the White House.

Police rushed to the scene, closed off the adjacent area and dispatched a negotiator to bring the daredevil back down.

Video from the scene showed huge police presence near the public attraction with their blinking lights flashing.

The man sat in the tree for about an hour before finally climbing down. Police said he "self-extricated" from the tree without needing any extra help.

The man did not suffer any injuries, which cannot be said about the tree, with NBC4 reporting that some of its lights were damaged.

National Park Service Sgt. Eduardo Delgado said that the man appeared to experience "emotional distress" and was sent to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

The motives of the man are unknown, though some jokingly suggested that he was probably protesting the border wall legislation.

Another witty Twitterer remarked that with all the pre-Christmas madness in Washington, climbing the Christmas tree is "the least weirdest thing."

Meanwhile, police said that access to the three would be barred for the entire night.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!