Washington, Oct. 1 -- US Vice President JD Vance placed the blame for the government shutdown squarely on the shoulder of Democrats, accusing them of "hostage taking" over health care demands in his first public remarks since the shutdown began at midnight.
In a Fox News interview Tuesday morning, Vance said Democrats had forced the shutdown to extract concessions on health care funding, a move he argued was reckless and unnecessary, reports CNN.
"You don't take the government as a hostage because you want to engage in negotiation about health care costs," Vance said.
"Let's do that negotiation, but let's do it in the context of actually opening the government and ensuring those essential services are actually provided to the American pe...