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Georgia congressman donating his shutdown salary to charity

Democrats and Republicans in Congress spent Saturday blaming each other for the mess.
The U.S. Capitol is seen in the morning hours January 20, 2018 in Washington, DC.

A GOP congressman from Georgia is donating his salary while the federal government is shut down to charity.

In a letter to the chief administrative officer of Congress, U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-12) is asking his salary be withheld until the shutdown is over:

Allen represents much of east Georgia, including Augusta, Statesboro, Dublin and Vidalia.

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen

The federal government shut down at the stroke of midnight Friday, halting all but the most essential operations and marring the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

RELATED | GOP, Democrats blame each other Saturday for shutdown

Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. Behind the scenes, however, leading Republicans and Democrats were trying to work out a compromise to avert a lengthy shutdown.

RELATED | A timeline of past government shutdowns

Republicans branded the confrontation a "Schumer shutdown" and argued that Democrats were harming fellow Americans to protect "illegal immigrants." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said a "Trump shutdown" was more accurate.

RELATED | The federal government has shut down. What's open, what's closed, what's different.

RELATED | GOP, Democrats show no sign of retreat over shutdown

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