What Makes This American Government Shutdown Different (as well as Harder to Resolve)?

Shutdowns are a repeat element of US politics – but the current situation appears especially difficult to resolve due to political dynamics and deep-seated animosity among both major parties.

Some government services are temporarily suspended, with approximately 750,000 people are expected to be put on unpaid leave since both political parties can't agree regarding budget legislation.

Votes aimed at ending the deadlock continue to fall short, with little visibility on a clear resolution path this time because both parties – as well as the President – can see some merit in maintaining their positions.

Here are the four ways that make things feel different currently.

1. For Democrats, it's about Trump – beyond healthcare issues

The Democratic base has been demanding over recent periods for their representatives more forcefully fights the current presidency. Currently Democratic leaders has a chance to show their responsiveness.

In March, the Senate's top Democrat was fiercely criticised for helping pass a Republican spending bill thus preventing a government closure early this year. Now he's digging in.

This presents an opportunity for Democrats to show they can take back certain authority from an administration that has moved aggressively on its agenda.

Refusing to back the GOP budget proposal carries electoral dangers as citizens generally may become impatient as the dispute drags on and impacts accumulate.

The Democrats are using the budget standoff to put a spotlight on ending healthcare financial support and Republican-approved federal health program reductions for the poor, both facing public opposition.

Additionally, they're attempting to curtail the President's use of his executive powers to cancel or delay funding authorized legislatively, a practice demonstrated in international assistance and other programmes.

2. For Republicans, it's an opportunity

The President and one of his key officials have made little secret of the fact that they smell a chance to advance further the cutbacks to the federal workforce that have featured the current presidential term to date.

The nation's leader personally stated recently that the shutdown provided him with an "unprecedented opportunity", and that he would look to reduce funding for "Democrat agencies".

The White House stated they would face a "challenging responsibility" of mass lay-offs to maintain critical federal operations if the shutdown continued. An administration spokesperson said this was just "fiscal sanity".

The scope of the potential lay-offs is still uncertain, but the White House have been consulting with federal budget authorities, the budgeting office, under the leadership of the key official.

The administration's financial chief has already announced the halting of government financial support for regions governed by of the country, including New York City and Chicago.

3. There's little trust on either side

While previous shutdowns have been characterised by extended negotiations among political opponents in an effort to get government services running again, currently there seems minimal cooperative willingness for compromise presently.

Conversely, animosity prevails. The bad blood continued over the weekend, as both sides blaming each other for causing the impasse.

House Speaker a Republican, charged opposition members with insufficient commitment about negotiating, and holding out over a deal "for electoral protection".

Meanwhile, the Senate leader levelled the same accusation against their counterparts, saying that a majority party commitment to discuss healthcare subsidies after operations resume can not be taken seriously.

The administration leader personally has inflamed the situation through sharing a computer-created controversial depiction featuring the opposition leader and the top Democrat in the House, in which the legislator appears wearing a large Mexican-style sombrero and facial hair.

The affected legislator and other Democrats called this racist, a characterization rejected by the administration's second-in-command.

4. The US economy faces vulnerability

Experts project about 40% of government employees – over 800,000 workers – to face furlough as a result of the government closure.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – and also have wider ramifications, including halted environmental approvals, patent approvals, interrupted vendor payments and other kinds of federal operations tied to business cease functioning.

The closure additionally introduces fresh instability into an economy already being roiled from multiple factors including tariffs, earlier cuts to government spending, immigration raids and technological advancements.

Analysts estimate potential reduction of as much as 0.2 percentage points from national economic expansion weekly during the closure.

But the economy typically recoups most of that lost activity following resolution, as it would after disruption after major environmental events.

This might explain partially why the stock market have shown limited reaction by the current stand-off.

On the other hand, experts indicate should administration officials implement his threat of mass firings, economic harm might become extended in duration.