Where do the 2024 presidential candidates stand on looming government shutdown?

Republican presidential candidates on the debate stage Wednesday blamed President Joe Biden for the looming government shutdown. They also pointed a finger at fellow Republican and former President Donald Trump.

"Where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action from leadership," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the Republican presidential debate.

"And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action," he added.

DeSantis and other 2024 GOP presidential candidates said the Trump administration's $7.8 trillion debt increase "set the stage" for today's inflation and spending disagreements. Meanwhile, Trump has egged on a shutdown, telling congressional Republicans in a Truth Social post, "UNLESS YOU GET EVERYTHING, SHUT IT DOWN!"

Here's what to know about where 2024 candidates stand on a shutdown.

Republican candidates blame lawmakers across the board

Besides Biden and Trump, Republican presidential candidates also condemned national lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"Everybody who’s in Washington, D.C. — they get sent down there to do the job and they’ve been failing," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said at this week's debate.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley argued Wednesday that senators and representatives should go without wages in a shutdown, like other federal employees.

"If they don’t keep the government open, they should not get paid. No pay, no budget," Haley said.

Trump backs House hardliners amid shutdown possibility

Trump, who was not on stage for the second debate, has cheered on the possibility of a shutdown, encouraging the handful of House Republicans to hold their ground on negotiations regardless.

"I’d shut down the government if they can’t make an appropriate deal, absolutely," Trump told NBC’s "Meet the Press."

The last and longest ever government shutdown was in 2018 and during Trump's presidency.

What is the Biden White House saying?

Biden called the faction of House Republicans "extremists in Congress more determined to shut down the government, to burn the place down than to let the peoples' business be done," in a speech at Arizona State University Thursday.

The Biden administration began bracing for a shutdown, directing federal agencies to begin preparations.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where do 2024 presidential candidates stand on government shutdown