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Shutdowns have become a recurring element of US politics – but this one feels particularly intractable because of political dynamics and deep-seated animosity among both major parties.

Certain federal operations are temporarily suspended, and about 750,000 people are expected to be put on unpaid leave since both political parties can't agree on a spending bill.

Legislative attempts to resolve the deadlock have repeatedly failed, and it is hard to see an off-ramp this time as each side – as well as the President – can see some merit in maintaining their positions.

Here are the four ways that make this shutdown distinct in 2025.

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

The Democratic base have insisted for months that their party adopt stronger opposition against the Trump administration. Currently Democratic leaders has a chance to demonstrate they have listened.

Earlier this year, Senate leader faced strong criticism for helping pass a Republican spending bill and averting a government closure in the spring. This time he's digging in.

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

Opposing the Republican spending plan carries electoral dangers that the wider public may become impatient with prolonged negotiations and impacts accumulate.

Democratic representatives are using the budget standoff to put a spotlight on expiring health insurance subsidies together with Republican-approved federal health program reductions for the poor, both facing public opposition.

Additionally, they're attempting to restrict the President's use of presidential authority to cancel or delay funding approved by Congress, 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 made little secret of the fact that they smell a chance to make more of reductions to the federal workforce 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", adding he intended to reduce funding for "opposition-supported departments".

Administration officials said it would be left with a "challenging responsibility" involving significant workforce reductions to keep essential government services operating if the shutdown continued. The Press Secretary said this was just "fiscal sanity".

The extent of possible job cuts is still uncertain, but the White House have been consulting with the Office of Management and Budget, the budgeting office, which is headed by the key official.

The administration's financial chief has already announced the suspension of federal funding for Democratic-run parts of the country, including New York City and Chicago.

3. There's little trust between both parties

While previous shutdowns have been characterised by late-night talks between the two parties in an effort to get federal operations, there appears to be little of the same spirit of collaboration this time.

Instead, animosity prevails. Political tensions persisted recently, with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for causing the impasse.

House Speaker a Republican, charged opposition members with insufficient commitment toward resolution, and holding out during discussions "for electoral protection".

Simultaneously, the opposition's chief made similar charges at the other side, stating how a Republican promise to discuss healthcare subsidies once the government reopens cannot be trusted.

The President himself has escalated tensions by posting a computer-created controversial depiction of the Senate leader and the top Democrat in the House, where the representative is depicted with traditional headwear and a moustache.

The affected legislator with party colleagues called this racist, a characterization rejected by the administration's second-in-command.

Fourth, The American Economy is fragile

Analysts expect about 40% of government employees – more than 800,000 people – to face furlough as a result of the government closure.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – with broader economic consequences, including halted environmental approvals, delayed intellectual property processing, payments to contractors along with various forms of government activity tied to business comes to a halt.

The closure additionally introduces fresh instability into an economy already being roiled from multiple factors including tariffs, earlier cuts to government spending, enforcement actions and artificial intelligence.

Economic forecasters project that it could shave as much as 0.2 percentage points from national economic expansion weekly during the closure.

However, economic activity generally rebounds most of that lost activity after a shutdown ends, similar to recovery patterns caused by a natural disaster.

This might explain partially why the stock market has appeared largely unfazed to the ongoing impasse.

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