U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters Yonhap News. 

U.S. President Donald Trump is using the federal government shutdown as an opportunity to attack political opponents and push forward his own policies.

There are observations that the shutdown situation is being leveraged to advance key priorities for a potential second Trump administration, such as shrinking the federal bureaucracy and retaliating against political adversaries, while simultaneously shifting all responsibility for the government shutdown to the Democratic Party.

The Washington Post (WP) pointed out on the 4th (local time) regarding the ongoing federal government shutdown that "President Trump is collapsing political norms by wielding the shutdown."

As of today, the White House website states, "The Democrats have shut down the government," with the duration of the shutdown displayed in seconds, without any mention of the Republican Party, which holds majorities in both the House and Senate.

Government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are also claiming on their websites that the shutdown was initiated by the so-called "far-left" Democratic Party.

Specific explanations, such as the shutdown occurring because Republicans opposed the Democratic Party's request to extend subsidies for "Obamacare" (ACA) citing "benefits for illegal immigrants," are difficult to find.

U.S. Congress. UPI=Yonhap News. 

Regarding this situation, WP stated, "After his second inauguration, President Trump has been deviating from the usual course to engage in battles with his opponents and push through policy goals that he failed to achieve during his first term. The shutdown is simply the latest example in that ongoing trend."

Indeed, since beginning his second term, President Trump has been pushing forward his policies with little regard for internal or external criticism.

He has significantly scaled back the operations of numerous federal agencies and laid off tens of thousands of federal employees.

He has declared a national emergency, proposing to send troops to Washington D.C. and California, and imposed billions of dollars in tariffs without consulting Congress.

This shutdown can ultimately be interpreted as an effort to reshape the federal government according to his own vision.

The intentions behind how President Trump wants to utilize the shutdown situation were recently revealed in a phone call between Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Republican lawmakers.

Vought disclosed that layoffs of federal employees are scheduled to begin within days.

He also revealed that funding for clean energy projects will be suspended in 15 out of 19 states that were previously strongholds for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Unlike the first administration, where the shutdown had to be lifted after 35 days due to internal Republican opposition, there is a widespread assessment that the current shutdown has garnered stronger support from Republican lawmakers.

A former official in the Trump administration, speaking anonymously to WP, commented, "During the shutdown phase of the first administration, internal party criticism and mistrust were the issues."

However, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration's strategy of shifting blame to the Democratic Party is effectively working.

A poll released by WP on the 2nd showed that 47% of respondents attributed responsibility for the shutdown to President Trump and the Republican Party, significantly outpacing the 30% who blamed the Democratic Party. Twenty-three percent responded with uncertainty.

Yonhap News