About 46 percent of independents said they would blame President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans for any government shutdown; 25 percent would blame Democrats. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Poll: More Americans will blame shutdown on Trump, GOP than on Dems Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they'll blame the president and the GOP if a shutdown could not be averted.

A plurality of Americans say President Donald Trump and the Republican Party will be responsible for a government showdown, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Friday.

Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said they'll blame the president and the GOP if a shutdown could not be averted by the deadline midnight Friday, while only 28 percent said they'll fault the Democrats. Eighteen percent of voters said they'll blame the White House, Republicans and Democrats equally.

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Among independents, the split margin was nearly identical, with 46 laying blame on Trump and the GOP and 25 percent on the Democrats. The results among Democrats and Republicans were predictably split along partisan lines, with 78 percent of Democrats placing blame on the West Wing and GOP leadership and 66 percent of Republicans faulting congressional Democrats.

The House passed a continuing resolution Thursday night that would extend government funding through Feb. 16, teeing up a crucial vote in the Senate to avert a shutdown before the deadline midnight Friday.

The findings come as both sides have doubled-down on pre-emptively pointing fingers across the aisle as the possibility of a shutdown looms.

During an impromptu press conference at the White House Thursday, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Democrats should be held accountable if Congress is unable to extend government funding by Friday. Mulvaney singled out the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in criticizing Democrats, dubbing a potential lapse in government funding the "Schumer shutdown."

“There’s no way you can lay this at the feet of the president of the United States,” Mulvaney told reporters. Mulvaney added that Schumer is “in a position to force this on the American people.”

Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, echoed the remarks, saying Democrats are "hell bent" on bringing about a shutdown.

Trump on Thursday accused Democrats of seeking to "blunt" the positive impact of the Republican Party's sweeping tax code overhaul by shutting the government down during a visit to a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, have faulted Republicans for failing to garner support for an agreement despite controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress.

This ABC News/Washington Post poll surveyed 1,005 adults and was conducted by landline and cellular telephone from Jan. 15-18. The poll has a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points.