President Donald Trump on Friday shrugged off the threat of the first US government shutdown in nearly seven years and moved to cast the blame for any disruption on Democrats.

A group of former national park superintendents is calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in case of a government shutdown

Democratic leaders have accused President Donald Trump of throwing a tantrum and chickening out after he canceled a meeting with them ahead of a potential federal government shutdown.

Government shutdown looms as Trump administration and Congress remain deadlocked, potentially affecting federal workers, national parks and essential services nationwide.

A group of former national park superintendents is calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in case of a government shutdown

Trump could use a shutdown to dismantle government functions, wrote Max Stier, chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit focused on improving the federal government.

The Trump administration’s threat to fire federal employees rather than furlough them in a possible government shutdown marks a further erosion of job security for a workforce that has already been upended by budget cuts and layoffs.

In a letter sent over the weekend, Jeffries and Schumer demanded to meet with Trump to negotiate a deal to prevent a government shutdown. Trump responded on Tuesday, saying that the Democratic leaders’ demands were “unserious” and “ridiculous” and that meeting with them could not “possibly be productive.”