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Shutdowns have become a recurring element of US politics – however the current situation appears particularly intractable because of political dynamics and deep-seated animosity among the two parties.

Certain federal operations face a temporary halt, and about 750,000 people likely to be placed on unpaid leave as Republicans and Democrats can't agree regarding budget legislation.

Votes aimed at ending the deadlock continue to fall short, and it is hard to see a clear resolution path this time as each side – as well as the nation's leader – perceive advantages in maintaining their positions.

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

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

Democratic supporters have insisted for months that their party adopt stronger opposition against the Trump administration. Currently Democratic leaders has a chance to show their responsiveness.

In March, the Senate's top Democrat was fiercely criticised for helping pass a Republican spending bill thus preventing a shutdown in the spring. Now he's digging in.

This presents an opportunity for the Democratic party to demonstrate they can take back certain authority from an administration that has moved aggressively on its agenda.

Opposing the GOP budget proposal comes with political risk that the wider public may become impatient with prolonged negotiations and consequences begin to mount.

The Democrats are leveraging the shutdown fight to put a spotlight on ending healthcare financial support together with Republican-approved federal health program reductions for the poor, which are both unpopular.

They are also trying to restrict the President's use of presidential authority to cancel or delay funding authorized legislatively, which he has done with foreign aid and various federal programs.

2. For Republicans, they see potential

The administration leader and one of his key officials have made little secret of the fact that they smell a chance to advance further reductions to the federal workforce that have featured the current presidential term to date.

The nation's leader personally said last week that the government closure provided him with a "unique chance", and that he would look to reduce funding for "opposition-supported departments".

The White House said it would be left with the "unenviable task" involving significant workforce reductions to keep essential government services operating if the shutdown continued. An administration spokesperson described this as "budgetary responsibility".

The extent of possible job cuts remains unclear, though administration officials has been in discussions with the Office of Management and Budget, the budgeting office, which is headed by the key official.

The budget director has already announced the suspension of federal funding for regions governed by of the country, such as NYC and Chicago.

Third, Trust Is Lacking between both parties

Whereas past government closures typically involved extended negotiations among political opponents aimed at restoring government services running again, currently there seems little of the same spirit for compromise presently.

Instead, animosity prevails. The bad blood persisted recently, as both sides exchanging accusations for causing the impasse.

House Speaker a Republican, accused Democrats with insufficient commitment toward resolution, and holding out during discussions "to get political cover".

Meanwhile, the Senate leader made similar charges against their counterparts, saying that a majority party commitment to discuss healthcare subsidies once the government reopens can not be taken seriously.

The President himself has inflamed the situation by posting a computer-created controversial depiction featuring the opposition leader along with another senior in the House, where the representative is depicted with traditional headwear and a moustache.

The representative with party colleagues called this racist, which was denied by the Vice-President.

Fourth, The American Economy faces vulnerability

Experts project about 40% of the federal workforce – over 800,000 workers – to be put on unpaid leave due to the shutdown.

This will reduce consumer expenditure – with broader economic consequences, including halted environmental approvals, patent approvals, payments to contractors and other kinds of government activity tied to business cease functioning.

A shutdown also injects new uncertainty into an economy currently experiencing disruption by changes ranging from tariffs, earlier cuts to government spending, immigration raids and technological advancements.

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.

That could be one reason why the stock market have shown limited reaction by the current stand-off.

On the other hand, analysts say that if administration officials implement proposed significant workforce reductions, economic harm might become more long-lasting.