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You are here: Home / Budget & Taxes / Why This Shutdown Is Different

Why This Shutdown Is Different

February 4, 2026 at 12:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Toluse Olorunnipa: “The second government shutdown of Trump’s second term ended today with much less fanfare and bravado from the commander in chief. This time, Trump negotiated both before and after the government was closed, going so far as to call Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to work out a deal on the main point of contention: his administration’s mass-deportation campaign.”

“Trump is largely the same person that he was four months ago, when the previous shutdown began… But his push to quickly resolve the latest shutdown highlights how much the political landscape on immigration has shifted following daily, videotaped clashes between masked federal agents and Minneapolis residents, two of whom were killed last month.”

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Filed Under: Budget & Taxes


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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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