A Republican senator from Montana says the Trump administration is trying to minimize the effects of the government shutdown by keeping at least some national parks open, but former President Barack Obama tried to make shutdowns painful for the American people.
Sen. Steve Daines said Saturday that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a former Montana congressman, wants to keep Montana’s Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park open.
Most of Yellowstone is in Wyoming but three of the five entrances are in Montana.
On Saturday, Zinke tweeted, “Not all national parks are fully open but we’re working hard to make as much accessible as is safely possible.”
The administration promised to keep as many sites open as possible during the shutdown, which began at midnight Friday on the East Coast. But by mid-day Saturday, the pattern was spotty.