President Donald Trump is telling aides and allies that the Democrats caused the government shutdown, “but that he will be blamed” for it, according to a source close to the White House.
The source told CNN that the White House believes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will press for some concessions for “a few days, if that long” as they work to strike a budget deal.
Congress failed to pass a spending bill to fund the government before the Friday midnight deadline. Trump has tweeted multiple times since the shutdown began that it was the fault of Democrats for letting it happen.
A CNN poll out before the government shut down on Friday showed that about half of Americans said they would blame either Trump (21%) or Congressional Republicans (26%). About a third, 31%, said they would hold Democrats responsible.