Description: The Republican and the Democratic party in the US after failing to agree next year’s government budget caused the closure of the US government, prompting many federal departments to furlough or retain their employees. The closure of the government is not unfamiliar in US politics as it has happened on several other occasion as well as in Trump’s first term, where the 35 – day partial government shutdown happened. The Congress, where the Republican party holds the majority in both chambers, was deadlocked after the Democrats disputed the government budget bill which sought to cut funds from the publicly supported Medicaid and Medicare programs. Trump in return has threatened to cut additional programs which align with the politics and policies of the Democratic party, going so far as to threaten mass firings similar to the federal cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), earlier this year. Many agencies and departments would continue to function, however, their employees would not be paid and there are no federal support programs which could substitute those payment funds.
Impact: Trump’s politization of the government budget coupled with his political persecution of the Democratic opposition precipitated the complete governmental deadlock. The closure could affect critical sectors such as disaster prevention, national security, healthcare and social programs facilitating assistance to the most vulnerable population. Currently there are no signs of political consensus between the largest parties in the US which indicates that the government closure could be prolonged in the foreseeable future. This would affect a variety of public services such as transport, public administration, healthcare and could even severely destabilize the market if the crisis protracts for over a period of one month. Trump’s threats of mass firings and budget cuts in the so – called non – essential departments could prompt civil unrest across the country as large – scale public disruption of services is widely expected.