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Government closures are a repeat element of US politics – however this one feels especially difficult to resolve because of shifting political forces and bad blood between the two parties.

Some government services face a temporary halt, with approximately 750,000 employees likely to be placed on furlough without pay as both political parties can't agree regarding budget legislation.

Votes aimed at ending the deadlock continue to fall short, with little visibility on an off-ramp this time as both parties – as well as the nation's leader – perceive advantages in maintaining their positions.

These are the four ways that make things feel different in 2025.

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

The Democratic base has been demanding for months for their representatives more forcefully fights the Trump administration. Well now the party leadership have an opportunity to demonstrate their responsiveness.

Earlier this year, Senate leader was fiercely criticised for helping pass GOP budget legislation and averting a shutdown in the spring. This time he's holding firm.

This presents an opportunity for Democrats to demonstrate they can take back some control from a presidency that has moved aggressively on its agenda.

Refusing to back the GOP budget proposal carries electoral dangers that the wider public will grow frustrated 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 GOP-backed government healthcare cuts affecting low-income populations, which are both unpopular.

They are also trying to restrict executive utilization of his executive powers to rescind or withhold money authorized legislatively, which he has done with foreign aid and other programmes.

Second, For Republicans, it's an opportunity

The administration leader along with a senior aide have openly indicated their perspective that they perceive an opening to advance further the cutbacks in government employment that have featured the current presidential term so far.

The nation's leader personally stated recently that the government closure had afforded him an "unprecedented opportunity", and that he would look to reduce funding for "Democrat agencies".

Administration officials said it would be left with a "challenging responsibility" of mass lay-offs to maintain critical federal operations if the shutdown continued. The Press Secretary said this was just "fiscal sanity".

The scope of the potential lay-offs is still uncertain, though administration officials has been in discussions with the Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, under the leadership of the administration's budget director.

The budget director has already announced the suspension of federal funding for Democratic-run parts of the country, such as NYC and Illinois' largest city.

Third, Trust Is Lacking between both parties

While previous shutdowns typically involved extended negotiations among political opponents aimed at restoring government services running again, currently there seems little of the same spirit of collaboration this time.

Instead, animosity prevails. The bad blood persisted recently, with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other regarding the deadlock's origin.

The legislative leader from the majority party, charged opposition members with insufficient commitment toward resolution, and maintaining positions during discussions "for electoral protection".

Meanwhile, the opposition's chief made similar charges at the other side, stating how a Republican promise to discuss healthcare subsidies after operations resume can not be taken seriously.

The administration leader personally has escalated tensions through sharing a computer-created controversial depiction featuring the opposition leader along with another senior in the House, where the representative appears wearing traditional headwear and a moustache.

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

Fourth, The American Economy is fragile

Experts project approximately two-fifths of the federal workforce – more than 800,000 people – to face furlough as a result of the government closure.

That will depress spending – and also have wider ramifications, as environmental permitting, delayed intellectual property processing, interrupted vendor payments and other kinds of federal operations tied to business cease functioning.

The closure additionally introduces new uncertainty within economic systems currently experiencing disruption from multiple factors including tariffs, previous budget reductions, immigration raids and technological advancements.

Economic forecasters project potential reduction of as much as 0.2 percentage points from national economic expansion for each week it lasts.

However, economic activity generally rebounds the majority of interrupted operations after a shutdown ends, similar to recovery patterns caused by a natural disaster.

This might explain partially why financial markets has appeared largely unfazed by the current stand-off.

On the other hand, experts indicate that if the President carries out proposed significant workforce reductions, economic harm might become extended in duration.