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The Latest: President Trump calls shutdown a ‘present' from democrats

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the government shutdown (all times eastern):

2:55 p.m.

Republicans and Democrats appear to be no closer to ending a government shutdown, and the White House is indicating it's waiting for Democrats to drop their demand that a funding bill include protections for younger immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

Budget director Mick Mulvaney and legislative affairs director Marc Short are lobbing verbal attacks at Democrats for blocking a spending bill over the unrelated legislation.

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Short told reporters Saturday that "it's like a 2-year-old temper tantrum."

Mulvaney says the administration is trying to mitigate the impact of the funding lapse, noting many national parks and government offices will be open during the duration. But he says the effects will still be significant.

Democrats are blaming the shutdown on Republicans, who control the White House and Congress.

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2:40 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump will not attend a fundraiser at his Florida estate because of the ongoing government shutdown in Washington.

Budget director Mick Mulvaney says Trump will not appear at the high-dollar fundraiser Saturday night at his Palm Beach estate.

Mulvaney also told reporters during a press briefing Saturday that Trump's participation in the World Economic Forum is up in the air. He says the White House is taking Trump's visit, as well as the planned attendance of much of the Cabinet at the Davos, Switzerland, event, "on a day by day basis."

Trump is scheduled to depart Washington for the Swiss Alps on Wednesday evening. A number of White House staffers and agency advance teams are already on the ground awaiting his arrival.

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12:40 p.m.

A Florida fundraiser celebrating President Donald Trump's first year in office will go on with or without him.

That's according to a Trump campaign official who was not authorized to publicly discuss planning and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump had hoped to spend the anniversary of his inauguration in Florida attending a high-dollar fundraiser taking place Saturday night at his Palm Beach estate. Instead, the president is reckoning with a federal government shutdown brought on by disagreement with lawmakers over what should be included in a government funding bill.

Trump scrapped plans to depart Washington on Friday. It remains unclear whether he still plans to attend.

Tickets start at $100,000 per couple and $250,000 to attend a round-table. The proceeds benefit a joint committee between Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee.

- By Associated Press writer Jill Colvin

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12:35 p.m.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is rejecting a fallback plan by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass a short-term spending plan through Feb. 8.

Pelosi says "there's no point" in approving a short-term bill unless both sides agree on how to move forward.

She and other Democrats said Saturday that they want "parity" on spending increases for defense and domestic programs such as opioid addiction and community health centers.

Pelosi says that even without a dispute over immigration, Democrats would not agree to a GOP spending plan unless it pays for domestic programs Democrats consider crucial.

Democrats have blamed the shutdown on Republicans, who control Congress and the White House. Republicans say Democrats are "holding our government hostage" to win protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

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12:25 p.m.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan says the partial government shutdown is "utter madness" and he is blaming it all on Senate Democrats.

Ryan said Saturday that the Democrats are "deliberately holding our government hostage" to win protections for younger immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

He blasted Democrats for a filibuster on a House-passed stopgap funding bill that would keep the government open through Feb. 16 and reauthorize a health care program for 9 million children from low-income families. He accused them of "opposing a bill they don't even oppose."

Ryan says, "We do some crazy things in Washington, but this is utter madness."

Democrats are blaming the shutdown on Republicans, who control Congress and the White House.

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11:10 a.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump phoned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss strategies to reopen the government.

Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley says Trump called the Republican Senate leader on Saturday morning. Gidley says chief of staff John Kelly is speaking with lawmakers and congressional leadership, while legislative affairs director Marc Short and budget director Mick Mulvaney are on Capitol Hill.

The shutdown is marring the anniversary of Trump's inauguration. For a businessman who made his career selling himself as a deal-maker, he is struggling to find consensus with Congress on a funding agreement.

The White House says Trump will not negotiate with Democrats over their demands to provide legal protections for roughly 700,000 young immigrants known as "Dreamers" until the government is reopened.

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11 a.m.

Junior White House aides are using their out-of-office messages to assign blame to Democrats for the government shutdown.

The automatic replies from White House assistant press secretaries Ninio Fetalvo and Natalie Strom say, "Unfortunately, I am out of the office today because congressional Democrats are holding government funding_including funding for our troops and other national security priorities_hostage to an unrelated immigration debate."

Hundreds of nonessential White House staffers are barred by law from working during the shutdown. The three deputy press secretaries are still working, however, as is press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

President Donald Trump had been set to leave Friday for a fundraiser Saturday at his Florida estate marking the anniversary of his inauguration but delayed the trip over the shutdown. It's unclear if he will attend.

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10:25 a.m.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is giving President Donald Trump an F for "failure in leadership" on the anniversary of his inauguration.

Pelosi also slammed congressional Republicans on Saturday as the government shutdown began.

In a speech on the House floor, Pelosi said Republicans who control the White House and hold majorities in the House and Senate are "so incompetent and negligent that they couldn't get it together to keep the government open."

Pelosi urged Republicans to "get down to business for everyday people in America."

She says Trump has tweeted that the country "needs a good shutdown." She says: "Your wish has come true for your one-year anniversary."

Republicans have blamed Democrats for the shutdown.

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9:50 a.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump will not negotiate immigration policy with Congress until the government reopens.

Spokesman Hogan Gidley says it's "disgusting" that Senate Democrats "decided to just throw our military under the bus."

Some government functions shut down at midnight Friday after the Senate failed to pass a short-term extension of government funding. Some Democrats voted against the bill because it did not include measures to shield from deportation immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Democrats demanded that immigration be included in the funding bill. The White House insists the issues be deal with separately.

Trump in a tweet Saturday accused Democrats of being more concerned about immigrants in the country illegally than about the military.

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7:35 a.m.

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."

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.

In Trump's view, "that is why we need to win more Republicans" in the midterm elections.

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2:36 a.m.

The federal government has shut down.

That means a halt to all but the most essential operations. And the shutdown is marring the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

It's a striking display of Washington dysfunction.

Last-minute negotiations crumbled when Senate Democrats blocked a four-week extension. And that's led to the fourth government shutdown in a quarter-century.

Leading Republicans and Democrats are now trying to work out a compromise to avert a lengthy shutdown.

Congress has scheduled an unusual Saturday session to begin considering a three-week version of the short-term spending measure.

Associated Press

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