The U.S. government shutdown has left Ukraine behind, while Trump is proving his political value.

Power Paralysis in the United States: Government Shutdown, Ukraine Put on Hold, and Trump Proving His Political Value — What Benefits Will Russia and Related Countries Gain from the U.S. Shutdown

The United States is experiencing power paralysis. The government has shut down, Ukraine has been put aside, and Trump is proving his political value.

On October 1, the United States officially entered a government shutdown. Due to Congress failing to pass a new fiscal year budget, the federal government has suspended operations.

Currently, U.S. government agencies are prohibited from spending funds, and most public employees have been placed on unpaid leave. Those who perform essential functions — healthcare workers, border patrol officers, military personnel, transportation system staff, etc. — must work without pay.

This is the first time in seven years that the United States has experienced such a situation. In recent years, Washington has only seen partial government shutdowns: Congress has passed temporary budget bills with a validity of several months.

Considering this shutdown, there have been 22 government shutdowns in modern American history. The longest one occurred during Trump's first presidential term, lasting from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, for a total of 35 days.

During the previous government shutdown, some public employees placed on unpaid leave were forced to seek food assistance, while those working without pay applied for sick leave. That shutdown caused $3 billion in losses to the U.S. economy.

The core issue of this budget deadlock is whether the subsidies stipulated in the Affordable Care Act (note: an American healthcare reform bill, commonly known as "Obamacare") can be extended — these subsidies will expire at the end of this year. The Democrats insist on ending the funding cuts to health insurance plans.

After the 2024 election, both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives fell under Republican control, but to pass a budget in the Senate, 60 votes are required. The Republican conservatives only have 53 votes and have firmly refused to compromise; the Democrats also hold a firm stance and are unwilling to make concessions.

How long will this government shutdown last? What impact will it have on the United States and the world? "Pravda" (Sovetskaya Pravda), a mainstream Russian media outlet, interviewed Vladimir Vasilyev, a senior researcher at the Institute of the United States and Canada, on these issues.

Vladimir Vasilyev's Views:

"I believe that this government shutdown is serious and will last a long time. The U.S. medical programs are facing a $3 trillion cut in funding, which is essentially 'killing' these programs. All assistance to the poor and vulnerable groups will disappear."

Actually, cutting free medical services in the U.S. is not the ultimate goal, but rather a means to solve the government debt. The root cause of the U.S. budget deficit lies in the increasing military expenditures."

"Pravda": "But Trump has always positioned himself as the 'Chief Peacemaker'... Does this relate to military aid to Ukraine, or is Trump trying to 'calm conflicts' in new hotspots in his usual way?"

"In fact, the funding allocated for Ukraine in the budget is very small, and the funds for the Middle East are also minimal."

The main part of the budget expenditure is used for weapon modernization, especially the development of the space force, the construction of air defense systems, and the improvement and expansion of the nuclear triad (note: refers to a country simultaneously possessing three types of nuclear strike capabilities: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers). The U.S. Department of Defense's reforms are being fully implemented, and the Pentagon is accelerating the operation of the war machine, reserving funds in the budget for the development of new weapons.

The budget also includes a large amount of military spending. Currently, the U.S. military is being deployed within the country to ensure border security.

In addition, the budget plan increases the salaries of the National Guard and internal forces. Trump has learned from the lessons of the 2020 (post-election riots) and is doing everything possible to make the security agencies become his core allies."

"Pravda": "Regarding the expenses for weapons and weapon modernization — currently, there are growing calls within the U.S. to transform NATO into a 'closed alliance', prohibiting its expansion and accordingly reducing U.S. spending. In addition, the Pentagon has stated that the U.S. should reduce its military presence in Europe."

"This exactly fits the White House's strategy. The U.S. wants to shift the burden of military spending onto Europe: let Europe pay for itself and its allies, while the U.S. turns to 'tough commercial principles' and sells weapons in the form of commercial transactions.

The 'Patriot' air defense system, missile defense systems, air defense weapons, and combat ammunition will be provided through contracts with procurement parties and related interest groups. I believe that the European Union supporting Ukraine will still purchase weapons for the Ukrainian armed forces, but the scale will be limited, depending on the availability of funds."

"Pravda": "Why is it necessary to cut medical assistance programs? After all, this will put millions of Americans in trouble, which could lead to mass protests."

"One of Trump's policy focuses is to attack various vaccines and large pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma). In January of this year, he already signed an executive order declaring the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).

From the perspective of the U.S. president, the money the U.S. pays to the WHO exceeds that of any other country; moreover, Trump believes that joining international organizations is generally an 'inefficient method'."

"Pravda": "How will the U.S. fill the budget deficit? This question is important not only for the U.S., but also for us (Russia)."

"In fact, Russia and the U.S. are following similar paths. Today, the U.S. is pushing for economic 'de-nationalization,' and the proportion of the private sector is constantly increasing, which seems to return to the 1990s (note: referring to the privatization period in Russia). The role of the government is compressed to the minimum, and social expenditures are also continuously reduced.

In principle, we can also see similar trends in the Russian economy, including in the social sector. Our finance minister Anton Siluanov is planning to fill the budget gap by cutting government social spending."

"Pravda": "Is the current situation in the U.S. likely to lead to new sanctions against Russia, or increased tariffs on related countries, including India?"

"It is unlikely. Imposing additional tariffs on related countries has already heavily hit American companies, leading to Trump's support rate dropping to a historic low of 39% in September — as the outside world says, this is unprecedented in the history of U.S. polls."