Duckworth Calls Trump '5-Deferment Draft Dodger'

President Donald Trump's comments about military funding in the wake of the government shutdown drew anger from critics over the weekend, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Iraq war veteran who lost both legs when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down in 2004, lashed out at Trump on Saturday after he accused Democrats of "holding our military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration" in a tweet.

"I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger," Duckworth said Saturday, also taking a shot at the draft deferments Trump received during the Vietnam war for bone spurs in his heels.

"I spent my entire adult life looking out for the well-being, the training, the equipping of the troops for whom I was responsible," she said, adding, "Sadly, this is something the current occupant of the Oval Office does not seem to care to do — and I will not be lectured about what our military needs by a five-deferment draft dodger."

Duckworth also accused the president of putting troops at risk. "If you cared about our military, you’d stop baiting Kim Jong Un into a war that could put 85,000 American troops, and millions of innocent civilians, in danger," she said.

The shutdown, which took effect on the one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration, will continue into a third day on Monday, with a vote on whether to reopen the governmentset for 11 a.m. Central time.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Republicans and Democrats share the blame for the shutdown. "Political gamesmanship, an unwillingness to compromise, and a lack of resolve on both sides have led us to this point," he said in a statement Saturday.

Under a shutdown, many operations will continue — troops will stay at their posts and mail will get delivered. But about half of the two million civilian federal workers will not be working, including some of the government's IRS and health and human services workers. Unlike previous shutdowns, national parks will remain accessible for the most part, but some high-profile sites — including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island — have already shut down.

Read: Government Shutdown: What's Open, What's Closed, Who's Affected

AP Photo/Seth Perlman