Jan 12, 2019

1 big thing: Record shutdown hits Trump states hard

Rural Western states that voted for President Trump are disproportionately affected by the government shutdown, which today sets a record as the longest in U.S. history, since federal workers there make up a large share of the workforce.

The big picture: Out of the 10 states with the most affected federal employees per 10,000, 6 voted for Trump — Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho and West Virginia.

  • Out of the 10 states, 4 voted for Hillary Clinton — D.C., Maryland, New Mexico and Virginia.

Why it matters: Trump's hard line over wall funding could end up hurting some of the people who put him into office.

  • One example: Offices of the USDA's Farm Service Agency, which helps farmers affected by China's soybean tariffs, are closed due to the shutdown.
  • An Axios analysis from September found that Trump states were the ones hit hardest by his tariffs.

About the data: The map above shows federal workers in the nine departments affected by the partial shutdown: Homeland Security, HUD, Commerce, Interior, Transportation, State, Agriculture, Justice and Treasury.

  • The data also includes other employees who are affected: EPA, FDA, Indian Health Services, NASA and Small Business Administration.

Go deeper: All the ways Americans are feeling the effects of the shutdown

Go deeper