President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats pointed fingers at each other as the nation entered the first day of a government shutdown with scant hope for a resolution anytime soon.

With both sides dug in, there were no talks scheduled as non-essential federal services shuttered indefinitely and hundreds of thousands of government workers were facing furloughs or lay offs.

The White House sought to blame Democrats for refusing to rubber stamp a Republican stopgap spending bill.

“We’re in this position because Senate Democrats decided …. to shut down the people’s government,” Vice President JD Vance said. “There are critical services that the Democrats have taken hostage because they have a policy disagreement.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, countered by sayin

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