US shutdown now longest in history

The partial shutdown of the US government is now the longest in history, with still no sign of a breakthrough between Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress.

Amid a budget stand-off over funding for a border wall with Mexico, the shutdown reached its 22nd day on Saturday, overtaking the previous record set in 1995-96 under then-president Bill Clinton.

Around 800,000 federal workers, including prison guards, airport staff and FBI agents, have gone without pay since the shutdown began before Christmas and key government departments and services are increasingly underfunded and understaffed.

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While the crisis has yet to seriously impact the majority of Americans, a new poll has revealed “Donald Trump is losing the battle to avoid blame for the government shutdown” says The Guardian, even though “the president has reportedly told advisers he thinks the 23-day [and counting] partial closure of the federal government, the longest ever, is a win for him”, says the paper.

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found that “by a wide margin, more Americans blame President Trump and Republicans in Congress than congressional Democrats for the now record-breaking government shutdown, and most reject the president’s assertion that there is an illegal-immigration crisis on the southern border”.

According to the poll, 53% of respondents say Trump and Republicans in Congress were to blame for the shutdown, with 29% blaming Democrats and 13% a combination.

Another poll from CNN found that 55% of respondents blamed Trump, while 32% blamed Democrats.

The president's disapproval rating has also climbed five points since last month.

The increase in disapproval for the president comes primarily among whites without college degrees, 45% of whom approve and 47% disapprove, “marking the first time his approval rating with this group has been underwater in CNN polling since February 2018”, says CNN.

Support for building a border wall, the issue at the heart of the shutdown, is hovering around 40%, but divides along party lines, with 87% of Republicans backing the idea.

“The deep partisan divide over who bears responsibility for the partial shutdown and over the wall itself is likely to have contributed to the length of the standoff,” says the Washington Post.

Politico says “with Democrats refusing to approve any money for the wall — while insisting Trump reopen the government even while negotiations continue — Hill Republicans are now trapped in a situation where their lead messenger's appeal is designed for base voters and isn't speaking to the broader American public”.

Yet despite the bad poll numbers, Trump isn't showing any signs of giving in, even amid reports some federal employees hit by the shutdown have had to resort to using food banks to eat, have begun driving for Uber, or have even sold household goods online to pay their bills.

Trump has flirted with the idea of declaring a national emergency to end the impasse, diverting some of the $13.9 billion allocated last year by Congress for disaster relief in such areas as Puerto Rico, Texas and California to pay for the wall.

Yet this is seen as the option of last resort and would be subject to an immediate legal challenge from Democrats.

According to the Associated Press, Trump's own son-in-law and senior White House aide, Jared Kushner, is among those who have cautioned the president against declaring a national emergency.