WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is blaming Democrats for the government shutdown — tweeting that they wanted to give him "a nice present" to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. He says Democrats "could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead."
And as part of a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began, the president is trying to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans in the November elections "in order to power through this mess."
Pres. Trump is accusing Democrats of being more concerned with "Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous" border with Mexico.
He's also noting there are 51 Republicans in the Senate, and it takes 60 votes to move ahead on legislation to keep the government running — so some Democratic support is needed now.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 6: The U.S. Capitol is seen February 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. The Senate is expected to vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos to become the next Education Secretary today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. Behind the scenes, however, leading Republicans and Democrats were trying to work out a compromise to avert a lengthy shutdown.
Congress scheduled an unusual Saturday session to begin considering a three-week version of the short-term spending measure.
The following statements were released in the hours after the vote in the Senate:
Sen. Ron Johnson (D - Wisconsin)
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D - La Crosse)
Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning