Four ways this shutdown could endpublished at 00:07 BST 2 October
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesFor the first time in nearly seven years, federal operations have been drastically curtailed as the US government shuts down. And so far, there doesn't seem to be an end in site.
Here are four scenarios for how this could play out:
Democrats quickly break ranks
Republican Senate leader John Thune says that he is already hearing from some Democrats who are uneasy with the way the shutdown is playing out. He's planning a series of funding votes in the coming days to keep the pressure on.
There were no new Democratic defections during the vote on Wednesday, but if five more Democrats break ranks, the shutdown will end – whether the rest of the Democratic Party wants it to or not.
Democrats back down
Even if the Democrats stay (relatively) united, the pressure on them to abandon the fight is likely to increase as the shutdown drags on.
Government employees are a key constituency in the party, and they will be the ones feeling the pain most immediately from delayed paycheques and the possibility that the Trump administration will use the shutdown to further slash programmes and turn their furloughs into permanent unemployment.
Republicans make concessions
In this scenario, the Republicans provide some kind of sufficient guarantee to Democrats that they will help to extend the health-insurance subsidies.
It's not an entirely unthinkable scenario, given that Republicans are currently divided over whether those subsidies – which help their own low-income voters as well as Democrats – should be continued.
The shutdown stretches on (and both sides lose)
The last government shutdown stretched on for a record-setting 35 days, ending only after US air travel was on the verge of massive disruption.
If this stretches on long enough, it may not matter who "wins" by forcing the other side to fold. There will be more than enough blame to go around.
We are ending our live coverage of the US government shutdown for today, but you can stay up-to-date here: White House says layoffs 'imminent' with no end to shutdown in sight














