WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has begun. So has the finger-pointing.

President Donald Trump says Democrats wanted to give him "a nice present" to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration.

He says Democrats "could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead."

In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began, the president is trying to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans in the November elections "in order to power through this mess."

It's a striking display of Washington's dysfunction as the shutdown halts all but the most essential operations.

Congress has scheduled an unusual Saturday session to begin considering a three-week version of the short-term spending measure — and to let the public know they're at work as the shutdown starts.

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Here's what Gov. John Bel Edwards had to say about the shutdown:

“Today, we find ourselves in the midst of another frustrating partisan battle. Both parties are spending more time blaming one another than finding common ground. Caught in the crossfire are the more than 122,000 Louisiana children who depend on CHIP for health care and the thousands of families who look to the National Flood Insurance Program for coverage. A nation this great should never have its citizens lay awake at night wondering if their children or property are protected. Both programs have bipartisan support and should be reauthorized immediately - either as standalone measures or as part of a grand bargain to end the shutdown. But the fact that Congress seemingly cannot manage to pass even the most essential legislation supported by clear majorities of both parties is further evidence of its dysfunction. The people of Louisiana and the United States deserve better.”

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