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Government closures have become a recurring element of US politics – however the current situation appears particularly intractable because of shifting political forces along with deep-seated animosity between the two parties.

Certain federal operations are temporarily suspended, and about 750,000 people are expected to be put on unpaid leave as Republicans and Democrats can't agree on a spending bill.

Votes aimed at ending the impasse continue to fall short, with little visibility on a clear resolution path in this instance because both parties – as well as the nation's leader – can see some merit in digging in.

These are the four ways that make this shutdown distinct currently.

First, For Democrats, the focus is on Trump – not just healthcare

Democratic supporters have insisted for months that their party adopt stronger opposition against the Trump administration. Well now Democratic leaders have an opportunity to show their responsiveness.

Earlier this year, the Senate's top Democrat faced strong criticism for helping pass GOP budget legislation thus preventing a government closure in the spring. This time he's digging in.

This presents an opportunity for Democrats to demonstrate their ability to reclaim certain authority from a presidency that has moved aggressively on its agenda.

Opposing the Republican spending plan comes with political risk as citizens generally will grow frustrated with prolonged negotiations and impacts accumulate.

The Democrats are using the budget standoff to put a spotlight on expiring health insurance subsidies together with GOP-backed government healthcare cuts affecting low-income populations, both facing public opposition.

They are also trying to restrict executive utilization of his executive powers to rescind or withhold money approved by Congress, which he has done in international assistance and other programmes.

2. For Republicans, it's an opportunity

The President along with a senior aide have made little secret their perspective that they smell a chance to make more of the cutbacks in government employment that have featured in the Republican's second presidency to date.

The President himself said last week that the government closure had afforded him an "unprecedented opportunity", and that he would look to reduce funding for "Democrat agencies".

The White House said it would be left with the "unenviable task" involving significant workforce reductions to keep essential government services operating should the impasse persist. An administration spokesperson said this was just "fiscal sanity".

The scope of the potential lay-offs remains unclear, but the White House have been consulting with federal budget authorities, the budgeting office, which is headed by the key official.

The budget director has already announced the halting of government financial support for regions governed by of the country, such as NYC and Illinois' largest city.

Third, Trust Is Lacking on either side

Whereas past government closures typically involved extended negotiations between the two parties aimed at restoring government services running again, currently there seems minimal cooperative willingness of collaboration this time.

Instead, animosity prevails. The bad blood continued over the weekend, as both sides exchanging accusations for causing the impasse.

House Speaker a Republican, accused Democrats of not being serious toward resolution, and holding out during discussions "for electoral protection".

Meanwhile, the Senate leader made similar charges at the other side, stating how a Republican promise regarding health funding talks once the government reopens cannot be trusted.

The administration leader personally has escalated tensions by posting a computer-created controversial depiction of the Senate leader and the top Democrat in the House, in which the legislator is depicted with a large Mexican-style sombrero and facial hair.

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

4. The US economy is fragile

Experts project about 40% of government employees – over 800,000 workers – to face furlough due to the shutdown.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – and also have wider ramifications, including halted environmental approvals, delayed intellectual property processing, interrupted vendor payments and other kinds of government activity tied to business comes to a halt.

A shutdown also injects fresh instability into an economy currently experiencing disruption from multiple factors including tariffs, earlier cuts to government spending, immigration raids and technological advancements.

Economic forecasters project potential reduction of approximately 0.2% from national economic expansion for each week it lasts.

But the economy typically recoups 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 to the ongoing impasse.

On the other hand, analysts say that if the President carries out his threat of mass firings, economic harm might become extended in duration.