Government shutdown‬ trump, ‪Democratic Party‬, ‪United States Senate

The U.S. government shut down at midnight after Congress failed to resolve a partisan standoff over immigration and spending. In a late-night vote, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would have kept the government running for four weeks. (Jan. 20) AP

The gambit failed miserably. The Republican Party’s already low standing in public opinion polls plunged further. Mr. Obama and Democratic lawmakers were widely seen as victorious.

Then the following November, something happened that plainly informed the moves of Democrats today as they drove the government toward another shutdown: Voters handed Republicans overwhelming victories and a Senate majority — in large part because of dissatisfaction with the man in the White House. The shutdown was a distant memory.

“I don’t think anybody paid a big price for it,” Senator Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat who is facing a competitive re-election race this fall, said of the 2014 election.

A shutdown likely means that most federal agencies will close and hundreds of thousands of government workers will be furloughed unless Congress can pass a funding bill this weekend.

Federal workers deemed "essential" would stay on the job and military and homeland security operations would remain up and running.

The Trump administration said that most national park sites would remain open through the weekend, but would begin closing Monday if a funding deal is not reached by then.

Republicans and Democrats were rushing to blame each other.

Graham said neither party wins when the government shuts down. 

"Everyone is convinced they’ll win — but in reality, nobody wins in a government shutdown," Graham said. "The ‘blame game’ makes for great Washington theater, but doesn’t serve the needs of the nation."

The last government shutdown was in 2013. Since then, Congress has come close to shutting down the government several times, but has always managed to reach a last-minute deal.