Government shutdown begins on anniversary of Trump's inauguration
Americans awoke Saturday to learn that quarreling politicians in Washington had failed to keep their government in business  halting all but the most essential operations and marring the anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration.
It was a striking display of Washington dysfunction  and the finger-pointing came quickly.  Trump  tweeted that Democrats "wanted to give me a nice present" to mark the start of  his  second year in office.
The closure began at the start of a weekend  so many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans. Damage could build quickly if the closure is prolonged. And it comes with no shortage of embarrassment for  Trump  and political risk for both parties  as they wager that voters will punish the other at the ballot box in November.
 Trump  said Democrats "could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead." In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began  the president tried to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans to Congress in November "in order to power through this mess." He noted that there are 51 Republicans in the 100-member Senate  and it often takes 60 votes to advance legislation.
"Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous" border with Mexico   Trump  tweeted.
Republicans branded the confrontation a "Schumer shutdown " after New York's Chuck Schumer  the Democratic leader. He said a " Trump  shutdown" was more accurate.
Earlier Friday   Trump  had brought Schumer to the White House in hopes of cutting a deal on a short-term spending agreement.
 Trump  had been an unreliable negotiator in the weeks leading up to the showdown. Earlier this week  he  tweeted opposition to the four-week plan  forcing the White House to later affirm  his  support.  He  expressed openness to extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program  only to reject a bipartisan proposal.  His  disparaging remarks about African and Haitian immigrants last week helped derail further negotiations.
 Trump  had been set to leave Friday afternoon to attend a fundraiser at  his  Palm Beach  Florida  estate marking the inauguration anniversary but delayed  his  travel.
The last shutdown came in 2013. Tea party Republicans  in a strategy not unlike the one Schumer is employing now  sought to use a must-pass budget bill to try to force President Barack Obama to delay implementation of his health care law. At the time   Trump  told "Fox & Friends" that the ultimate blame for a shutdown lies at the top. "I really think the pressure is on the president " he said.
Arguing that  Trump 's predecessors "weaponized" that shutdown  Mulvaney said his budget office would direct agencies to work to mitigate the impact this time. That position is a striking role reversal for the conservative former congressman who was one of the architects of the 2013 shutdown.
Americans awoke Saturday to learn that quarreling politicians in Washington had failed to keep their government in business  halting all but the most essential operations and marring the anniversary of President [TGT]'s inauguration.
It was a striking display of Washington dysfunction  and the finger-pointing came quickly.  Trump  tweeted that Democrats "wanted to give me a nice present" to mark the start of  his  second year in office.
The closure began at the start of a weekend  so many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans. Damage could build quickly if the closure is prolonged. And it comes with no shortage of embarrassment for  Trump  and political risk for both parties  as they wager that voters will punish the other at the ballot box in November.
 Trump  said Democrats "could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead." In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began  the president tried to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans to Congress in November "in order to power through this mess." He noted that there are 51 Republicans in the 100-member Senate  and it often takes 60 votes to advance legislation.
"Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous" border with Mexico   Trump  tweeted.
Republicans branded the confrontation a "Schumer shutdown " after New York's Chuck Schumer  the Democratic leader. He said a " Trump  shutdown" was more accurate.
Earlier Friday   Trump  had brought Schumer to the White House in hopes of cutting a deal on a short-term spending agreement.
 Trump  had been an unreliable negotiator in the weeks leading up to the showdown. Earlier this week  he  tweeted opposition to the four-week plan  forcing the White House to later affirm  his  support.  He  expressed openness to extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program  only to reject a bipartisan proposal.  His  disparaging remarks about African and Haitian immigrants last week helped derail further negotiations.
 Trump  had been set to leave Friday afternoon to attend a fundraiser at  his  Palm Beach  Florida  estate marking the inauguration anniversary but delayed  his  travel.
The last shutdown came in 2013. Tea party Republicans  in a strategy not unlike the one Schumer is employing now  sought to use a must-pass budget bill to try to force President Barack Obama to delay implementation of his health care law. At the time   Trump  told "Fox & Friends" that the ultimate blame for a shutdown lies at the top. "I really think the pressure is on the president " he said.
Arguing that  Trump 's predecessors "weaponized" that shutdown  Mulvaney said his budget office would direct agencies to work to mitigate the impact this time. That position is a striking role reversal for the conservative former congressman who was one of the architects of the 2013 shutdown.