On Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats should funding lapse at midnight Friday. | Alex Wong/Getty Images McConnell plans for shutdown The Senate leader intends to keep his chamber in session and stage a series of votes designed to embarrass vulnerable Democrats. 
 
 Mitch McConnell is making contingency plans for the growing possibility of a government shutdown. 
 
 The Senate majority leader intends to keep the chamber in session through the weekend and stage a series of votes designed to put Democrats from conservative states on defense, according to two Republican sources familiar with his plans and an email sent by McConnell on Thursday and obtained by POLITICO. 
 
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 The goal would be to place the blame for a shutdown squarely on 10 Democratic senators up for reelection this fall in states won by Donald Trump in 2016, and make them the face of a government closure. 
 
 The strategy is risky for Republicans, considering that they control the White House and Congress. Should funding lapse at midnight Friday, McConnell would keep the Senate in session and try to force Democrats to repeatedly vote against funding for children’s health care money and government spending. 
 
 On Thursday morning, McConnell sent his GOP members an email imploring them to stick together and assign blame to Democrats. Several Republicans, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Rounds of South Dakota have said they will oppose a House spending bill that could be voted on Thursday night. 
 
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 “We should all plan to stay through this weekend if Senate Democrats follow through and are willing to shut down the government and the Children’s Health Insurance Program because they have yet to conclude a deal on DACA. This is an irresponsible position to take as everything from pay for our military to processing social security checks will be affected. I hope not a single Republican is inclined to join them,” McConnell said in the email. 
 
 Liberal Democrats scoffed at the Republican strategy to blame their more moderate colleagues. 
 
 “Only In Washington when the Republicans control the House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the White House would they seek to blame Democrats,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). “You should be concerned less about the politics and more about getting the job done.” 
 
 Only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin has said he will support the House’s short-term funding bill. The other Trump-state Democrats are not saying how they would vote. They're under pressure from liberal activists demanding that they vote against any bill that does not include protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants facing potential deportation. 
 
 Republicans have 51 votes in the Senate and are hoping to expand their majority this fall, when a host of moderate Democrats are up for reelection. 
 
 Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) signaled on Tuesday that he could vote no, blasting the House’s short-term bill as “a bad proposal,” while Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) also indicated she is undecided. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said he would not draw a “line in the sand” on funding. 
 
 “They will own this shutdown and we will take these votes over and over so they are on record. General polls [about] how [Republicans] suck do not matter. We are looking at the Trump states where we need pick up seats. And we will go after them aggressively,” said a senior Republican aide working on party strategy. 
 
 McConnell is likely to repeatedly call up the funding bill and make Democrats vote it down, provided the House passes its bill on Thursday. A spokeswoman for McConnell confirmed the Senate will stay in session in the event of the shutdown. 
 
 “If the Democrats choose to shut down the government, if that hypothetical situation happens, then yes of course the Senate will remain in session,” said Antonia Ferrier, a spokeswoman for McConnell. 
 
 A national Republican strategist said the GOP’s campaign arm is likely to use Democrats’ words opposing the 2013 shutdown against them. The aim will be to damage incumbent Democrats caught between voters in conservative states and liberal activists pushing those senators to block the funding bill. Campaign officials are planning to hammer Democrats for voting against a bill with funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. 
 
 “You will also see something similar to the messaging [Democrats] used in 2013 on funding for troops, seniors and again children,” the strategist said. 
 
 Senate Democrats are laying their own plans to blame Trump and GOP leaders for a potential impasse, including an aggressive media campaign slamming Republicans. 
 
 “Senate Republicans have a herculean task ahead of them to blame anyone but the president for this shutdown,” said Matt House, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The American people will know exactly where to place the blame for the first-ever shutdown under total Republican control in Washington.” 
 
 Elana Schor contributed to this report. ||||| "We'll see what happens. It's up to the Democrats," President Donald Trump said on Thursday. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Trump says government shutdown 'could happen' 
 
 President Donald Trump said Thursday a government shutdown "could happen," as lawmakers continue to scramble to reach a deal to avert it. 
 
 Addressing reporters outside the Pentagon, Trump added: "We'll see what happens. It's up to the Democrats." 
 
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 The White House said later Thursday that Trump supports the short-term funding legislation being pushed by House Republican leaders. 
 
 "The President supports the continuing resolution introduced in the House," White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement. "Congress needs to do its job and provide full funding of our troops and military with a two year budget caps deal. However, as the deal is negotiated, the President wants to ensure our military and national security are funded. He will not let it be held hostage by Democrats." 
 
 Trump and the White House say if a shutdown occurs, the fault would lie squarely on Democrats, even though the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress and the presidency. 
 
 “Our tax cuts and our tax reform has turned out to be far greater than anybody ever anticipated and I'm sure the Democrats would like to blunt that by shutting down government," the president said. 
 
 Trump said the biggest loser in the event of a shutdown would be the military. "We're never letting our military lose at any point," he said. 
 
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 The president had introduced fresh confusion into GOP efforts to find an agreement to keep the government open earlier Thursday when he tweeted about a popular children's healthcare program. 
 
 “CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!,” Trump wrote in reference to the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Republican leaders have included a six-year extension of the program in a bill that would keep the government open through Feb. 16. 
 
 ||||| Lawmakers had until Friday at midnight to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown. But the negotiations failed to prevent what became the first government shutdown since 2013. 
 
 Here’s what that means. 
 
 Why would the government shut down? 
 
 Every year, Congress has to approve laws, known as appropriations, that provide money for federal agencies. Under federal law, if an agency does not have an appropriation law in force, it can’t spend money, so it has to close. 
 
 The new budget year began on Oct. 1 without agreement on the appropriations bills. Since then, lawmakers have passed a series of stopgap measures to temporarily fund government operations. The most recent one extended the shutdown deadline to Jan. 19. 
 
 House Republicans unveiled another measure to extend the deadline on Wednesday, but passage is uncertain because the bill fails to include action on the Dream Act to protect young immigrants from deportation. 
 
 Do all government programs stop in the event of a shutdown? 
 
 No. Here are the big categories that don’t: 
 
 Programs that don’t require annual appropriations. That group, which includes Social Security, Medicare and other so-called entitlements, continue without interruption. 
 
 That group, which includes Social Security, Medicare and other so-called entitlements, continue without interruption. Those entailing functions “necessary to protect life or property.” Law enforcement, the military, intelligence agencies and foreign embassies all will stay open. 
 
 Law enforcement, the military, intelligence agencies and foreign embassies all will stay open. Some programs that have other sources of money that will allow them to function for a while. Courts, for example, can spend money they have collected through fines and fees, funds that would allow them to keep functioning for a while. 
 
 Courts, for example, can spend money they have collected through fines and fees, funds that would allow them to keep functioning for a while. The U.S. Postal Service. It’s a quasi-independent entity and does not depend on annual appropriations, so its business will continue as usual. 
 
 What are some examples of government offices that would close? 
 
 Federal parks and monuments and federally owned museums, such as the Smithsonian. Those are probably the most visible federal activities affected by the shutdown. 
 
 Offices overseas that give visas to foreigners hoping to visit the United States, many federal regulatory agencies, IRS call centers that provide assistance to taxpayers and most offices that handle federal grants and contracts will all close. 
 
 Seems like a lot of things that directly affect individuals wouldn’t be affected by a shutdown. Is that correct? 
 
 Right. That’s a fundamental truth about the federal government. State and local governments provide a lot of services to people -- schools, highways, water, sanitation and the like are all state and local responsibilities. The federal government handles a few huge benefit programs, which, as we noted, are not affected. But most of what the federal government does in domestic policy -- overseeing grants and contracts and regulating businesses, for example, remains at least one step removed from everyday life. 
 
 What about federal workers? 
 
 Hundreds of thousands of federal civilian workers would be furloughed. They would not be paid during the shutdown. The last time the government shut down, in 2013, Congress approved retroactive pay for workers who were furloughed, but there’s no guarantee that would happen. 
 
 What impact would this have on the economy? 
 
 A lot depends on how long a shutdown lasts. If the duration is only a few days, the economic impact will be small. But the impact builds with time. The tourism industry will be among the first hit because of the closure of parks and the inability of foreign tourists to get visas. 
 
 The 2013 shutdown, which lasted for 16 days, cost U.S. taxpayers $24 billion and reduced projected fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth from 3% to 2.4%, according to estimates by Standard & Poor's. 
 
 To read this article in Spanish, click here ||||| President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. At right is White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Associated Press) 
 
 President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. At right is White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Associated Press) 
 
 President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. At right is White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Associated Press) President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the Pentagon, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. At right is White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — No, the United States is not at risk of shutting down this week, as President Donald Trump suggested Thursday. 
 
 Neither is the entire government, for that matter. 
 
 Trump said on his way into Pentagon meetings: "If the country shuts down, which could very well be, the budget should be handled a lot differently than it's been handled over the last long period of time — many years." 
 
 Republicans and Democrats are racing to reach a short-term budget agreement and head off a partial government shutdown that could start at midnight Friday night. If they fail, the consequences, though noticeable, would be far short of a country in paralysis. Even core government functions would keep going. 
 
 In a nutshell: Hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be idled, some national parks could close, and certain other services, deemed non-essential, would stop. The air traffic control system, food inspection, Medicare, veterans' health care and many other essential government programs would run as before. The Social Security Administration would continue to pay benefits and take applications. The Postal Service would run as usual, and the 1.3 million uniformed military personnel would still be on duty. National security operations would continue. 
 
 Whether they work through a partial shutdown or not, federal workers can't get paid during a lapse in funding. In the past, however, they have been repaid retroactively even if they were ordered to stay home.
– If he were a betting man, it doesn't sound like President Trump would be betting on a short-term budget agreement passing Congress by Friday. In brief comments to reporters outside the Pentagon Thursday, Trump said there "could very well be" a shutdown. "We'll see what happens. It's up to the Democrats," Politico quotes him as saying. That seems to be Mitch McConnell's line, too. Politico reports—by way of GOP sources and an email from McConnell it viewed—that should the short-term funding bill the GOP is pushing not pass by the Friday deadline, McConnell plans to try to foist the blame for the ensuing shutdown on Democrats and their DACA-related demands, particularly those Democrats whose seat will be up for grabs this fall and who hail from states Trump won (there are 10, Politico notes). The reported strategy is for McConnell to keep the Senate in session all weekend and arrange a slew of votes that could put Dems in a bad light, should they continually vote against things like the Children’s Health Insurance Program. If a shutdown does kick in at midnight Friday, the AP reports the impact would be evident but not paralyzing. Federal workers would be impacted and national parks could close, but essential things—Social Security payments, Homeland Security, the military, air traffic control, food inspection—would truck on. There could be an economic cost, though. In a great primer on what a shutdown could mean, the Los Angeles Times notes that the 16-day 2013 shutdown dropped Q4 GDP growth from 3% to 2.4%, per Standard & Poor's estimates.