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Shutdowns are a repeat element in American political life – however this one feels especially difficult to resolve due to shifting political forces along with bad blood among the two parties.

Some government services face a temporary halt, with approximately 750,000 employees are expected to be put on unpaid leave since both political parties can't agree on a spending bill.

Votes aimed at ending the impasse have repeatedly failed, and it is hard to see a clear resolution path in this instance as both parties – as well as the President – can see some merit in maintaining their positions.

These are the four ways in which things feel different currently.

1. For Democrats, the focus is on Trump – beyond healthcare issues

The Democratic base has been demanding over recent periods for their representatives more forcefully fights the current presidency. Well now the party leadership have an opportunity to show their responsiveness.

In March, Senate leader was fiercely criticised for helping pass GOP budget legislation thus preventing a government closure in the spring. Now he's digging in.

This is a chance for the Democratic party to show their ability to reclaim some control from a presidency pursuing its agenda assertively with determined action.

Opposing the Republican spending plan carries electoral dangers as citizens generally may become impatient as the dispute drags on and consequences begin to mount.

The Democrats are using the shutdown fight to put a spotlight on ending healthcare financial support and GOP-backed government healthcare cuts for the poor, both facing public opposition.

They are also trying to restrict executive utilization of presidential authority to cancel or delay funding approved by Congress, a practice demonstrated in international assistance and various federal programs.

Second, For Republicans, it's an opportunity

The administration leader and one of his key officials have openly indicated their perspective that they smell a chance to make more of reductions in government employment that have featured the current presidential term so far.

The President himself said last week that the shutdown had afforded him a "unique chance", adding he intended to reduce funding for "opposition-supported departments".

The White House stated they would face a "challenging responsibility" of mass lay-offs to maintain critical federal operations if the shutdown continued. The Press Secretary said this was just "budgetary responsibility".

The extent of possible job cuts remains unclear, but the White House have been consulting with the Office of Management and Budget, the budgeting office, which is headed by the administration's budget director.

The budget director has previously declared the halting of government financial support for regions governed by the opposition party, including New York City and Illinois' largest city.

Third, Trust Is Lacking on either side

Whereas past government closures typically involved late-night talks among political opponents in an effort to get government services running again, currently there seems little of the same spirit of collaboration this time.

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

House Speaker a Republican, charged opposition members with insufficient commitment about negotiating, and maintaining positions over a deal "to get political cover".

Simultaneously, the opposition's chief levelled the same accusation against their counterparts, stating how a Republican promise regarding health funding talks once the government reopens cannot be trusted.

The President himself has escalated tensions through sharing a computer-created controversial depiction of the Senate leader along with another senior opposition figure, in which the representative is depicted with a large Mexican-style sombrero and facial hair.

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

Fourth, The American Economy faces vulnerability

Analysts expect about 40% of the federal workforce – more than 800,000 people – to face furlough as a result of the shutdown.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – and also have wider ramifications, as environmental permitting, patent approvals, payments to contractors along with various forms of federal operations tied to business comes to a halt.

A shutdown also injects fresh instability within economic systems currently experiencing disruption by changes ranging from trade measures, previous budget reductions, immigration raids and artificial intelligence.

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

However, economic activity generally rebounds the majority of interrupted operations after a shutdown ends, similar to recovery patterns after major environmental events.

This might explain partially why the stock market have shown limited reaction to the ongoing impasse.

Conversely, experts indicate should administration officials implement his threat of mass firings, the damage could be more long-lasting.