The shutdown reflects the disordered nature of the Donald Trump administration, in which all standards of sobriety have been thrown to the wind. The 2019 shutdown, which lasted 34 days, lowered GDP by US$8 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It comes in a Trump administration that has already gutted departments, fired thousands of officials and applied a chainsaw to the normal operations of the state. The Democrats’ refusal this week to support spending measures was their only leverage. Nevertheless, Mr Trump is unfazed.