Congress meeting today to try to end government shutdown as immigration debate remains a focus
WATCH Government shutdown begins; how it affects ordinary Americans
Lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill Saturday morning after a dramatic showdown led to a federal government shutdown shortly after midnight on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration.
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It is the first time in recent history when government operations shut down while Republicans control both the White House and Congress.
The House and Senate are set to reconvene to attempt to broker an agreement to fund the government with the House expected to hold votes following a round of speeches.
Over the days, hours and even minutes leading up to the shutdown, immigration came into sharp focus as an issue where both parties were deeply divided.
As government shutdown begins, so does finger-pointing Americans more likely to blame Trump, Republicans if government shuts down: Poll
At the Capitol on Saturday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., focused his ire on Democrats, particularly Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
McCarthy said that he believed there was bipartisan agreement on four key immigration issues — the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, border security, family reunification and a merit-based immigration system, and called it "irresponsible" that a shutdown would occur while they were "meeting [and] making progress."
Trump spoke on the phone with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Saturday morning, the White House said, without providing additional detail about the content of their conversation.
In a pair of early-morning tweets, the president focused on immigration and sought to place the blame for the shutdown squarely on Democrats.
"Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border. They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess," Trump tweeted.
Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border. They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018
A subsequent tweet read, "This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown."
This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018
Schumer said he thought negotiators were nearing a deal Friday when he met with Trump.
The New York Democrat said he "reluctantly" agreed to fund a border wall in exchange for protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients.
“President Trump, if you are listening, I am urging you: please take yes for an answer," Schumer said on Friday.
McConnell, who pledged in the early morning hours Saturday that there would be a Senate vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government through the first week of February, received support on the plan from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. But such a short-term deal still faces opposition from a number of senators seeking a more permanent solution after three consecutive continuing resolutions were passed in 2017, leading to the current standstill.
Meanwhile, thousands of activists — many of them galvanized by Trump's election to office a year ago — are gathering in cities across the nation for the second annual Women's March, which this year organizers are calling "#PowerToThePolls." The shutdown of federal operations is likely to come up in speeches by lawmakers, celebrities and others in such cities as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York and other communities.
The shutdown also comes exactly one year after Trump said in his inauguration speech: "We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action."
ABC News' John Parkinson and Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.
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