Washington returns to shutdown talks, partisan blame

Capitol Hill is seen agains a blue sky while the government begins a shutdown January 20, 2018 in Washington, DC.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

last updated 20 January 2018

After a late night of unproductive talks, Congress reconvened Saturday morning to continue negotiations to end the government shutdown — and, naturally, to throw lots of blame across the aisle.

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Friday he believes there is a "really good chance" the matter will be resolved by Monday, but many lawmakers' remarks were not so optimistic. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) accused Senate Democrats of "holding government funding hostage," while House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the shutdown should be blamed on President Trump's "confrontation and chaos."

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.