1:37Susanne Brown, a resident of Bellingham, Washington, observes a sign stating, ‘This Facility is Closed Due to the Federal Government Shutdown’, on the entrance of the Everglades National Park visitor center, Oct. 1, 2025, inside Everglades National Park, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
As the federal government standstill stretches into its third week, with Democrats and Republicans still trading accusations, surveys in recent weeks indicate a shift in public opinion, with Americans assigning blame almost equally to Republicans, Democrats, and President Donald Trump, after initially leaning towards blaming Republicans or Democrats more heavily.
For instance, a survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), released on Thursday and conducted in mid-October, revealed that 58% of U.S. adults believe Trump holds "a great deal/quite a bit" of responsibility for the shutdown, mirroring the 58% who blame Congressional Republicans and the 54% who blame Congressional Democrats.
However, a Reuters/Ipsos poll, carried out at the start of October, suggested Americans felt Republicans were somewhat less culpable for the impasse.
The U.S. Capitol Visitors Center is inaccessible to the public during the federal government closure, October 1, 2025 in Washington.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
When that study investigated who Americans felt was mostly at fault for the absence of a deal and the ensuing shutdown, responses indicated that Congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump shared the majority of the blame, while Congressional Republicans received the smallest share.
The study stated that 37% considered Congressional Democrats most culpable for the failure to reach an agreement, whereas 37% pointed to Trump and 19% to Congressional Republicans.
Nevertheless, 63% of Americans at the time expressed that Congressional Democrats deserved "at least a fair amount" of blame, matching the proportion who said the same of Donald Trump; a marginally higher 67% felt Congressional Republicans were deserving of such blame.
An earlier Washington Post survey, conducted on Oct. 1 as the shutdown initiated, discovered that a larger segment of Americans held Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump (47% of Americans) accountable compared to Democrats (30% of Americans) — although roughly 1 in 5 admitted uncertainty regarding who was to blame.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson addresses a press briefing with Republican Congressional leadership on the initial day of the US government shutdown in Washington, October 1, 2025.Nathan Howard/Reuters
A New York Times/Siena College poll, taken at the close of September, just before the shutdown began, produced parallel results.
More voters at that point indicated they would fault Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress (26% of voters) over Democrats in Congress (19% of voters). However, around a third of registered voters expressed that they would distribute blame equally between both parties.
One of the contentious issues dividing the parties during the shutdown has involved insurance subsidies, which Democrats are eager to extend immediately, while Republicans prefer to postpone discussions on extending them until a later time.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, also referred to as premium tax credits, serve to decrease or eliminate the personal expense of monthly premiums for those securing insurance through the healthcare exchange.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, during an MSNBC interview broadcasted on Thursday, stated he had offered Democrats a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies as part of the current standstill concerning government funding, but this initiative proved insufficient to resolve the deadlock.
When the AP-NORC survey directly inquired whether Americans supported or opposed "extending the federal tax credits for individuals who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace," 43% voiced their support, while 42% expressed neutrality, neither favoring nor opposing the measure.
However, in a survey by KFF, conducted immediately preceding the start of the federal government shutdown, 78% of Americans conveyed their desire to see ACA marketplace tax credits extended — including 59% of Republicans.
Among those Americans surveyed by KFF who expressed a wish to "extend the enhanced tax credits," approximately equal segments — close to 40% each — declared that they would primarily hold Trump or Congressional Republicans accountable if the credits were to lapse, whereas 22% suggested Democrats would bear the brunt of the responsibility.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
