Nearly half of Americans blame Trump and GOP for shutdown: poll

• 43% of Americans are "very concerned" about the shutdown, compared to just 25% at the start of the closure, according to the Post's initial poll.
• Both parties are anxious about the shutdown, but Democrats are more than twice as likely to be very concerned.
• People making less than $25,000 were the most likely, at 56%, to say they were concerned about the shutdown.

By the numbers: Almost half of Americans — 45% — say Trump and the GOP are responsible for the ongoing shutdown, while 33% blamed Democrats and another 22% say they're not sure who's responsible.

• 81% of Democrats blame Trump and Republicans, compared to 72% of Republicans who say Democrats are at fault.

Yes, but: 63% of Americans say they disapprove of Trump's management of the federal government, while only 36% approve.

Context: The Senate failed to advance a bill to end the shutdown for the 13th time Wednesday, even as disruptions impact air travel and hundreds of thousands of federal employees remain furloughed.

• SNAP benefits will also expire on Nov. 1, which may leave some 42 million Americans without access to food aid.

Methodology: The nationwide poll was conducted Oct. 24-28, 2025. Ipsos used KnowledgePanel, a nationwide survey panel designed to represent the U.S. population, to interview a random sample of 2,725 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 1.9 percentage points.