U.S. government shutdown underway amid blame game

Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the congressional failure to pass a short-term bill to continue funding for U.S. federal agencies and prevent some of them from shutting down.

Results from the final Senate vote on the Republican bill aimed at thwarting a shutdown were announced around midnight and it was 10 votes short.

Friday's late-night vote means a government closure is underway after the two parties showed no clear signs that they have significantly narrowed their disputes over immigration and the budget.

Democrats had insisted that any bill to renew government funding also contain permanent protections for approximately 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants who were brought illegally into the United States as children.

U.S. President Trump held a face-to-face meeting with Chuck Schumer around midday Friday. Schumer called it a 'good meeting' but described talks with other Republicans that followed as 'chaotic.' (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

Last week, President Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan Senate deal that would have accomplished that as well as hand the White House $2.7 billion in new money for immigration enforcement at America's borders.

Minutes before Friday's midnight deadline for a funding deal, Trump's White House issued a statement blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

"We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands," it said.

White House blames 'obstructionist losers'

In reading the statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said "Senate Democrats own the Schumer shutdown," adding, "This is the behaviour of obstructionist losers, not legislators."

The shutdown was cemented when the Senate, meeting late into Friday night, blocked a bill to maintain the federal government's funding through Feb. 16.

The vote was 50-49, short of the 60 needed in the 100-member chamber to vault the bill over a procedural hurdle.

The House approved the measure Thursday over Democratic opposition. It would have kept agencies afloat for four more weeks, but Democrats wanted a package lasting just days in hopes of intensifying pressure on the Republican party to compromise.

Minutes after the shutdown went into effect, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted Republicans and Trump from the Senate floor.

'This will be called the Trump shutdown'

"The blame should crash entirely on President Trump's shoulders," he said.

"This will be called the Trump shutdown because there is no one, no one who deserves the blame for the position we find ourselves in more than President Trump. he walked away from two bipartisan deals, including one today, in which I even put the border wall on the table. What will it take for President Trump to say yes and learn how to execute the rudiments of government," Schumer said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined Trump in attacking Democrats in the chaotic close to Trump's first year as president.

"What we've just witnessed on the floor was a cynical decision by Senate Democrats to shove aside millions of Americans for the sake of irresponsible political games," McConnell said.

Trump sarcastically tweeted on Saturday morning about the Democrats giving him a "present" on the one-year anniversary of his presidency.

Not the first funding impasse

The U.S. government has officially shut down 18 times since 1976, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Some lasted a few hours, but the 1996 shutdown under Bill Clinton lasted the better part of a month, the longest in history.

Many of the immediate effects of the government shutdown will be muted for most Americans.

Federal employees deemed essential will be expected to report to work. Social Security and most other safety net programs should be unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. Critical government functions will continue, with uniformed service members, health inspectors and law enforcement officers set to work without pay.

But if no deal is brokered before Monday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are set to be furloughed, or placed on an unpaid leave of absence

The White House and Capitol Hill will be working with skeleton staffs, but some government agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, have said they were able to shift funding around to keep most workers on the job. National parks and federal museums will be open, but with potentially reduced services.

As Republicans and Democrats heatedly blamed each other for the shutdown, Congress scheduled a Saturday session to consider a three-week version of the short-term spending measure.