As of today, the United States government has been shut down for 7 days with no deals being made between the Republicans and Democrats. So far, there have been five attempts by Republicans to pass a bill to fund the government until November 21st, but Democrats have blocked each bill.
Initially, Trump was mostly silent on the shutdown, but he has since shifted his stance. Recently, he has announced that he would be willing to negotiate with democrats on Medicare if they agree to end the government shutdown.
Trump has experience with dealing with government shutdowns, with one occurring during his previous term. That shutdown was over a disagreement on funding allocation towards the southern border wall project. That shutdown lasted for 35 days, the longest shutdown in American history.
The current shutdown is over a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans on how to proceed with government funding of Medicare and other government services. Republicans wished to pass a “Clean” bill, which would continue the status quo, while Democrats wished to reintroduce previous systems that were undercut earlier by this administration.
As the shutdown continues, government workers continue to be unable to work, unable to provide for themselves and their families. Necessary workers may work without pay or for a reduced amount. The longer this shutdown continues, the more severe the lasting issues produced by the event will be.
The government could be recovering from this shutdown for months or even years if the shutdown is not resolved soon. Hopefully, with further progress in negotiations, Republicans and Democrats can agree on a compromise and hold further discussions after the government is in operation once again.
