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 Harbour in Hawaii — were temporarily closed.

The Trump administration enlisted Vice President J.D. Vance for an appearance in the White House briefing room to argue, falsely, that Democrats refused to keep the government funded because they were trying to extend health coverage to people in the country illegally.

Top Democrats countered that they simply want to renew funding for health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act so that insurance premiums won't spike nationwide for American families.

Neither side said it would budge, but, as the finger-pointing

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