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Government closures are a repeat element in American political life – however the current situation appears particularly intractable due to political dynamics along with deep-seated animosity among both major parties.

Some government services face a temporary halt, with approximately 750,000 employees are expected to be put on furlough without pay as both political parties remain unable to reach consensus on a spending bill.

Votes aimed at ending the impasse have repeatedly failed, with little visibility on a clear resolution path this time because each side – as well as the President – perceive advantages in maintaining their positions.

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

1. For Democrats, it's about Trump – beyond healthcare issues

The Democratic base has been demanding for months for their representatives more forcefully fights the Trump administration. Well now Democratic leaders has a chance to demonstrate their responsiveness.

Earlier this year, Senate leader was fiercely criticised for helping pass a Republican spending bill thus preventing a government closure in the spring. Now he's holding firm.

This is a chance for Democrats to demonstrate their ability to reclaim certain authority from an administration pursuing its agenda assertively with determined action.

Refusing to back the Republican spending plan comes with political risk that the wider public may become impatient as the dispute drags on and impacts accumulate.

The Democrats are using the shutdown fight to put a spotlight on expiring health insurance subsidies together with GOP-backed government healthcare cuts affecting low-income populations, which are both unpopular.

They are also trying to restrict executive utilization of presidential authority to cancel or delay funding authorized legislatively, a practice demonstrated with foreign aid and various federal programs.

Second, For Republicans, they see potential

The administration leader along with a senior aide have made little secret of the fact 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 stated recently that the shutdown provided him with an "unprecedented opportunity", adding he intended to cut "opposition-supported departments".

Administration officials said it would be left with the "unenviable task" of mass lay-offs to maintain critical federal operations if the shutdown continued. The Press Secretary described this as "fiscal sanity".

The extent of possible job cuts remains unclear, but the White House has been in discussions with federal budget authorities, the budgeting office, under the leadership of 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 Chicago.

3. There's little trust on either side

While previous shutdowns have been characterised by extended negotiations between the two parties in an effort to get government services running again, currently there seems minimal cooperative willingness for compromise presently.

Conversely, there is rancour. The bad blood persisted recently, as both sides exchanging accusations for causing the impasse.

House Speaker from the majority party, charged opposition members of not being serious about negotiating, and holding out during discussions "to get political cover".

Simultaneously, the Senate leader levelled the same accusation at the other side, saying that a Republican promise to discuss healthcare subsidies after operations resume cannot be trusted.

The President himself has inflamed the situation by posting a controversial AI-generated image featuring the opposition leader and the top Democrat in the House, where the representative appears wearing traditional headwear and a moustache.

The representative with party colleagues denounced this as discriminatory, which was denied by the Vice-President.

4. The US economy is fragile

Experts project approximately two-fifths of government employees – more than 800,000 people – to be put on unpaid leave as a result of the government closure.

That will depress spending – 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.

The closure additionally introduces new uncertainty into an economy already being roiled from multiple factors including trade measures, previous budget reductions, immigration raids and artificial intelligence.

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

However, economic activity generally rebounds most of that lost activity following resolution, as it would after disruption caused by a natural disaster.

This might explain partially why financial markets has appeared largely unfazed to the ongoing impasse.

Conversely, experts indicate should the President carries out his threat of mass firings, economic harm might become more long-lasting.