Government shutdown updates: Leavitt says Trump exploring cutting aid to Portland

After the government shutdown commenced, Republican House and Senate leaders blamed Democrats for the "needless Schumer shutdown," urging them to vote for the GOP stopgap funding bill.

"There is nothing new in this legislation. No gimmicks whatsoever," House Speaker Mike Johnson said during the press conference on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader John Thune held up the Republican-backed 24-page bill, saying it is a "very straightforward issue."

"Does this look partisan? Does this look dirty to you? Twenty-four pages to fund the government. Nothing more, nothing less," Thune said.

Johnson said there is "still time" for Democrats to pass the GOP bill and "vote for the right and responsible thing."

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Wednesday blasted the federal government shutdown, warning it will cause serious harm to his state and its residents.

Moore, who was joined by half of the state's congressional delegation during the news conference, warned that Maryland will be among the states hardest hit by the shutdown.

Maryland is home to over 60 federal facilities, 260,000 federal workers, and 200,000 federal contractors.

"There is not a single state in this country that is prepared to fill this enormous gap that is being created by this federal administration," Moore said.

"A prerequisite to keeping the government open, should not be cutting people off of health care, a prerequisite for keeping the government open should not be forcing people to have their premiums jump," he added.

"On behalf of the six and a half million Marylanders, my message to President Trump is clear, stop this shutdown," Moore said.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said President Donald Trump and Republicans have "shut the government down because they don't want to provide health care to working-class Americans."

He said Democrats are trying to "negotiate a bipartisan agreement that actually brings the two parties together and funds the government that improves the quality of life of the American people."

The minority leader also denied that Democrats are trying to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, as "federal law prohibits" the ability to provide health insurance to undocumented individuals through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program or the Affordable Care Act.

"Period, full stop. That's the law. Democrats aren't trying to change that," Jeffries said on Wednesday.

Jeffries added that Republicans "could care less about the medical and health care crisis that they have caused.

Speaker Mike Johnson spoke on "Good Morning America" about the government shutdown, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, saying that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer "wants to play games."

"We're pretty angry about it," Johnson said on Wednesday.

He said that Democrats want to "give health care to illegal aliens instead of keeping critical services provided for the American citizens."

The Democratic-backed spending bill that would have extended heath care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and reversed cuts to Medicaid failed on Tuesday, along with the GOP-backed stopgap funding measure that would have kept the government funded for seven weeks.

Johnson also said that President Donald Trump gave Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries "unlimited time" during their meeting earlier in the week to avoid the shutdown.

Johnson emphasized that the shutdown will create "real harm that the American people are going to feel."