According to a recent poll, a majority of Americans anticipate the government shutdown to endure for two weeks or less, as Congress deals with the repercussions of the first shutdown in approximately six years.
The YouGov poll, released on Friday, revealed that 41% of Americans believe the federal shutdown will last up to two weeks. Within this group, 16% expect it to last under a week, while 25% foresee a duration of one to two weeks. Meanwhile, 13% predict the shutdown to span three to four weeks, and 9% anticipate a closure lasting at least a month.
However, over a third of those surveyed, specifically 37%, are uncertain about the duration, reflecting the widespread uncertainty expressed by lawmakers in Washington.
House Republicans have called off next week’s votes and have been advised by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to avoid returning to the Capitol. Johnson has urged Senate Democrats to pass a temporary bill to keep operations running until November 21.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and most party members have declined to support the spending bill until there are guarantees for the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy renewals and a reversal of Medicaid cuts.
In the meantime, 47% of YouGov poll participants stated they believe the shutdown will not affect them, while 35% expressed it is “probably” likely to have a personal impact.
Republicans are shouldering the brunt of the blame for the federal shutdown, according to the survey findings.
A plurality, or 45%, of Americans said President Trump is very responsible for the shutdown. The same percentage blamed GOP lawmakers, and 36% said they feel congressional Democrats are responsible.
One YouGov survey was conducted online on Oct. 1 with 2,368 U.S. adults. A second survey was conducted on Oct. 2 with 2,890 U.S. adults. The margin of error for each survey is approximately 2.5 percentage points.
