Trump's one-year anniversary marked by shutdown instead of celebration

WASHINGTON — Not a great way to spend an anniversary.

President Trump marked his first year in office Saturday by trying to ride out a government shutdown, as he, Republican allies, and Democrats argued over who to blame for the ongoing impasse.

"This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown," Trump said during a pre-dawn tweet storm.

Aside from tweeting, Trump stayed out of the public eye early Saturday. Aides said he received regular updates from Capitol Hill on budget negotiations, and spoke by phone with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.

"We are committed to making sure the American people, especially our great military and the most vulnerable children are taken care of," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

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The president and aides also hit the airwaves and social media, as did their Democratic adversaries, to make their cases about the shutdown and the first 12 months of the Trump presidency.

While Democrats pointed out that the Republicans control the presidency and Congress, Trump noted that Senate Democrats used the filibuster rule to block passage of a short-term spending bill that would have kept the government open.

More:The federal government has shut down. What's open, what's closed, what's different.

Trump and Republicans said Democrats insisted on authorization of a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program designed to prevent deportation of younger people brought into the country illegally by their parents. Trump set a March 5 deadline for Congress to pass legislation on this issue when he announced in September that he would revoke an Obama-era executive order protecting these immigrants from deportation.

"Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration," Trump said in his series of tweets Saturday. "Can’t let that happen!"

In an earlier tweet, Trump said that "Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border."

Democrats like Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer, who negotiated directly with Trump on Friday, said Trump has seemed willing to accept a deal, but keeps getting pulled back by White House aides and other Republicans.

"Negotiating with President Trump is like negotiating with Jello," Schumer said Saturday.

Meanwhile, the parties engaged in a hashtag battle to describe the standoff as "the Trump shutdown" or "the Schumer shutdown."

Trump argued on social media that "the Republicans only have 51 votes in the Senate, and they need 60" to break a filibuster.

Citing upcoming races in November to determine control of Congress, Trump said, "that is why we need to win more Republicans in 2018 Election!"

Four Senate Republicans also voted against the temporary spending bill.

The shutdown does not affect current military operations, and other services deemed essential. Vice President Mike Pence left Friday night for a three-country trip to the Middle East, and will not be immediately available for negotiations to end the shutdown or to break a tie vote in the Senate.

More:The government shuts down after Senate blocks short-term spending bill

More:Polls suggest Trump and GOP could bear the shutdown blame

Democratic lawmakers pointed out that this is the first government shutdown to take place at a time when one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

“On the eve of the first anniversary of his inauguration, President Trump earned an ‘F’ for failure in leadership," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said before the midnight deadline.

Trump had planned to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., including a special campaign fundraising dinner to commemorate his anniversary in the Oval Office.

With the House and Senate reconvening for rare Saturday sessions, the president and his aides worked the phones looking to end the shutdown.

Trump critics are also observing the anniversary, including "women's march" events across the country designed to mirror the ones that took place the day after Trump's swearing-in.

Since an inaugural address in which he decried an "American carnage" of crime and industrial jobs lost to foreign countries, the past twelve months have been marked by chaos and controversy. It has ranged from Trump's failed efforts to repeal and replace President Obama's health care law to allegations that he and his family are seeking to profit financially off of the presidency.

From an argument over the crowd size at his inaugural to an unfounded claim that Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped, any number of Trump tweets have generated controversy on their own.

The administration has had to contend with a special counsel investigation into any links between the Trump campaign team and Russians who sought to interfere in the 2016 election, and whether the president sought to obstruct justice by firing FBI Director James Comey. A new best-selling book claims that people close to the president question his mental and emotional stability.

Trump, meanwhile, has touted the performance of the economy over the past year,  including the passage of major tax cuts, the elimination of a raft of regulations, and an ever-rising stock market.

He has claimed military success against the Islamic State in the Middle East, extolled his appointment of conservative jurist Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and pushed for trade policy changes he says will put American workers on a level playing field with foreign competitors.

"We are putting America first, making real change in Washington, and creating opportunities for all of our people," Trump said in an op-ed for The Washington Examiner.

White House aides who were told not to report to work on Saturday left email auto-reply messages blaming the Democrats: "Unfortunately, I am out of the office today because congressional Democrats are holding government funding — including funding for our troops and other national security priorities — hostage to an unrelated immigration debate," said one response.