WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn’t curtailing travel. He’s not avoiding golf or making do with a skeleton staff in the West Wing. Even hamburgers served at the White House aren’t from McDonalds, this time.
In shutdowns past — including during Trump’s first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed “non-essential” sent home, the White House often sought to appear sympathetic to Americans affected by disruptions to health care, veterans benefits and other key services.
The current shutdown has left around 750,000 federal employees furloughed and others working without pay. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is lapsing after Friday — affecting 1 in 8 Americans who rely on it to help buy groceries.
Nonetheless, it’s been mostly business as usual for Trump over the past 29 days.
“It’s like that country song: ‘Sometimes falling feels like flying for a little while,’” said Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to President Bill Clinton, who presided over two shutdowns between 1995 and 1996. “They seem to be like, ‘So far, so good, man.’”
Continued Engagement Despite Shutdown
Trump is on a six-day swing through Asia, after a recent, whirlwind Middle East visit to celebrate a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. He hosted a White House fundraiser for major donors to his $300 million ballroom that has seen construction crews tear down the East Wing, and held another fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Members of the Cabinet have similarly hit the road. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Israel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went to Portland, Oregon, to decry protests there, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got a firsthand look at TOPGUN, the U.S. Navy’s elite fighter weapons school in Nevada.
Only 32% of the staff in the Executive Office of the President were set to be furloughed during the current shutdown, according to data in a contingency report from the White House budget office. That’s down from 61% during the last shutdown in 2018-19, during Trump’s first term. About half of the Executive Mansion’s team of housekeepers, ushers, valets and butlers are currently working. Last time, more than 70% were furloughed.
It’s often been hard to tell a shutdown is happening with so many staffers remaining at their desks.
“I don’t even know if they’re supposed to be working, but they wouldn’t miss a day,” Trump said during an event last week.
A Strategic Shift in Shutdown Management
Barreling ahead like there’s no shutdown has some political advantages for Trump, allies say: It allows him to look presidential while avoiding congressional bickering. “It’s a much smarter approach,” said Marc Short, chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence.
In Trump’s first-term shutdown, he rejected a congressional compromise to force the government to close — an attempt to win funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. This time? “The White House has been clear about not owning it.”
While Trump has expressed that the government must reopen, he has also used the shutdown to target programs favored by Democrats, redirecting funds to his own priorities — like covering military paychecks.
As the shutdown remains unresolved, many Americans are split on who to blame, with opinions favoring both Trump and congressional Democrats. Meanwhile, efforts to extend essential services, such as health insurance tax credits, continue to face stalemate.
“We will continue highlighting the workers and families who are suffering because of the Democrats’ decision to shut down the government,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated in a press release.
