South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) chastised President Barack Obama for allowing the U.S. government to shut down.
In a Tuesday Facebook post, Haley said it's "inexcusable" the government shut down and blamed a "complete lack of leadership" on Obama's part.
"You call in both sides, bring them in a room for the good of the people you serve and resolve the issue," Haley wrote.
Obama spoke out against a government shutdown on Monday as Congress worked -- and failed -- to reach an agreement on spending before the midnight deadline. Obama said a shutdown was "entirely preventable" if Republicans in the House would strike an agreement with the Senate.
"The idea of putting people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility, and it does not have to happen," Obama said Monday.
Republicans' demands for changes in the nation's health care law as the price for essential federal funding -- and Democrats' refusal to comply with those demands -- led to the government shutdown, which began at 12 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
The AP reported just after the shutdown:
On a long day and night in the Capitol, the Senate torpedoed one GOP attempt to tie government financing to changes in "Obamacare." House Republicans countered with a second despite unmistakable signs their unity was fraying – and Senate Democrats promptly rejected it, as well.
Defiant still, House Republicans decided to re-pass their earlier measure and simultaneously request negotiations with the Senate on a compromise. Some aides conceded the move was largely designed to make sure that the formal paperwork was on the Senate's doorstep as the day ended.
Whatever its intent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., rejected it. "That closes government. They want to close government," he said of House Republicans.
Below, Haley's Facebook post on the shutdown:
Before You Go
