Both parties blame each other on 1st day of government shutdown as tourist sites close

1 / 4

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Vice President JD Vance, gestures as he stands with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, right, while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats spent the first day of the federal government shutdown blaming each other for the dysfunction, as iconic sites representing the nation's core identity — from the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii — were temporarily closed.

The Trump administration enlisted Vice President JD Vance for an inaugural appearance in the White House briefing room to argue, falsely, that Democrats refused to keep the government funde