Much has been made of the great political polarization gripping the country (an assessment that is not at all unfair), but if there’s one thing a majority of Americans seem to agree on, it’s this: Donald Trump and his Republican allies are to blame for the government shutdown.
Now entering its 24th day, the partial government shutdown has stalled federal operations and left an estimated 800,000 government employees furloughed or working without pay for nearly a month. According to multiple national polls, Americans say Trump—who has dug his heels in about funding for a $5.8 billion border wall—is responsible for the stalemate between himself, the GOP and the Democratically controlled House of Representatives.
According to a Washington Post/ABC News survey published Sunday (h/t HuffPost), most Americans “reject the president’s assertion that there is an illegal immigration crisis on the southern border.” According to the survey, 53 percent of Americans place most of the blame for the shutdown on Trump and Republicans, a number that is reflected in at least three other recent surveys—namely, HuffPost/YouGov, CNN/SSRS, and Reuters/Ipsos—all of which have at least 50 percent of Americans faulting Trump for the shutdown.
Across the surveys, Americans continue to oppose funding the border wall—with the Post/ABC poll finding 54 percent of respondents disapproving of the controversial barrier’s construction across the U.S./Mexico border. However, as HuffPost notes, that rate is actually lower than last year, when nearly two-thirds of Americans said they opposed the wall.
Still, 67 percent of respondents say Trump shouldn’t resort to declaring a national emergency to fund the wall if Congress decides not to foot the bill.
The deadlock has gotten so dire that employees at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Aviation Administration have all filed lawsuits against the Trump administration for the shutdown. A notable suit filed Wednesday invokes the 13th amendment—yes, the one that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude—in its case against Trump.
So the fact remains: The shutdown, which many Americans agree hurts the economy and the country (because there are still a handful of things we’re maybe not idiots about), is not headed to any resolution anytime soon.