Nine days into the U.S. government shutdown, what began as routine political brinkmanship has become a national crisis.

With around 900,000 federal workers furloughed and key agencies like the CDC, NIH, and FAA scaling back operations, the effects are being felt across every sector of American life.

Flights are delayed, food aid disrupted, and vital research paused — all while Congress remains locked in stalemate. The shutdown, which has frozen roughly $1.7 trillion in federal funding, is now testing not just the resilience of the U.S. economy but the credibility of its political system.

In this edition of NewsHour, Guy Shone asks whether Washington’s dysfunction is now routine — or evidence of a system in decline. Political analyst Peter Roff joins us live from Washington DC to examine who’s to blame, how long this could last, and what it means for American democracy.

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