As fate would have it, the current U.S. government shutdown shattered its historical record this Tuesday at around 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), when the polling stations closed in New York City, which had just elected its first socialist and Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

The election of Mamdani, like the ongoing struggle with Donald Trump over public funding, stems from the Democratic Party’s attempt to present itself to voters as more than just a party defeated by Donald Trump in the last presidential election. This Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of that victory.

The previous record belonged to the last shutdown. It lasted 35 days, beginning on December 22, 2018, due to a dispute over funding for the wall Trump wanted to build on the border with Mexico, and it was resolved around 9:00 p.m. on January 25, 2019. So it was the same president but, unlike this time, that Congress was in recess while it was being renewed to reflect the election results of the 2018 midterm elections, in which the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives, two years after Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.

This time, the Senate has remained active. The House, however, has not, as its leader, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, adjourned it before the October 1st shutdown for political reasons. The Senate has voted 14 times to see if enough Democrats would switch sides to reach the supermajority of 60 seats Republicans needed to reopen the government. The latest vote took place this Tuesday and produced a result similar to the previous 13 times.

It makes sense: the disagreements remain the same as at the beginning. Democrats don’t trust their opponents and won’t support their plans until they have assurances that certain Obamacare subsidies — the health assistance plan for those who can’t afford the kind of coverage provided by private insurance — won’t disappear with the new year. They also demand assurances against the cuts to Medicaid, a kind of social security for low-income Americans, which Republicans managed to pass this summer as part of Trump’s mega tax reform, the Big Beautiful Bill.

Republicans accuse their rivals of wanting to offer free healthcare to undocumented migrants, despite the fact that the law prohibits it, as well as of wanting taxpayer money to be used for “gender mutilation procedures,” another fallacy.

Negotiations underway

According to U.S. media reports, negotiations to end the shutdown have focused in recent days on agreeing to a funding package that would allow Democrats to vote independently on extending Obamacare subsidies. The agreement would also include a pact to fund key federal government agencies until September of next year.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the government shutdown have worsened with each passing day. Some 750,000 federal employees are furloughed without pay. Those performing jobs deemed “essential” must continue fulfilling their obligations, but without pay, and the Trump Administration has hinted that what was traditionally guaranteed — that all employees will receive their back pay when the flow of public funds resumes — is no longer so.

On Tuesday, the White House press secretary missed an opportunity to reassure those government employees, thousands of whom have been forced to rely on food banks to stock up on supplies. Karoline Leavitt stated at her press conference that their situation would depend on the agreement the administration reaches with the Democrats.

Last weekend, the situation at airports worsened considerably, with airfields experiencing average delays of up to five hours due to shortages of air traffic controllers and ground staff. However, the worst impact is being felt by the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps through a program called SNAP.

After Trump, who has found the money to pay the military, said he didn’t intend to honor SNAP promises, two federal judges ordered the administration to do so last Friday. This Tuesday, the U.S. president, determined to inflict as much damage as possible on Democratic voters with the shutdown, announced that his administration will only pay half the money owed for those vouchers.

The U.S. president invited Republican senators to breakfast at the White House on Wednesday. All indications are that he will use the opportunity to pressure them to support the abolition of the filibuster, which requires major legislative decisions to be made in the Capitol by a 60-vote majority. Senate Majority Leader John Thune believes that pressing this “nuclear button” would be detrimental to them when Democrats regain control of the Senate, perhaps in next year’s elections. But things could change. Everything suggests that, unlike with the last shutdown, this time Trump is ready to do anything.

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A federal judge indicated Thursday that she is inclined to order the Trump administration to continue funding the food stamp program, which 42 million Americans rely on. The Republican administration confirmed last weekend that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would run out of funding on November 1 due to the federal government shutdown, which is already the second-longest in history at 30 days, just six days shy of breaking the previous record.

In announcing its decision to suspend the program that helps approximately one in eight Americans buy food, the Trump administration argued that it could not use contingency funds to keep it running during the government shutdown because that money is reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters. At the same time, it insisted that it does not have enough money to provide the approximately $8 billion needed to fund the program nationwide next month.

Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani disagreed. “I have a hard time understanding how this isn’t an emergency when there’s no money and so many people need their SNAP benefits,” she said Thursday during a hearing in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 25 Democratic states and the District of Columbia. The judge, appointed by former president Barack Obama, added that the Trump administration will have to “figure out how they’re going to stretch that emergency money for now.”

“If you don’t have money, you tighten your belt,” Justice Talwani said. “You are not going to make everyone drop dead because it’s a political game someplace.”

SNAP helps low-income individuals and families buy food by providing electronic benefits that can be used at participating stores. States are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the benefits, which are paid monthly by the federal government. If suspended in November, it would be the first time in the program’s 60-year history that payments have not been made due to a pause in federal budget allocations. Other lawsuits have been filed to prevent the program’s suspension, including one filed Thursday in Rhode Island by a coalition of eight cities and community, business, and labor organizations.

The program has a contingency fund that serves as a reserve to maintain benefits during short-term funding shortfalls. It currently has more than $5 billion available. The Trump administration initially stated it would use that money to prevent any disruption to the program during the government shutdown, which began on October 1. However, it later reversed course, claiming it could not use those funds to finance food stamps because they were reserved for natural disasters such as “hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.” At the same time, it warned states that it would not reimburse them if they attempted to fund the program on their own.

The Democratic-led states and territories that filed the lawsuit in Massachusetts court argue that contingency funds should be used to keep the program afloat. “Because of the actions of the [Department of Agriculture, USDA], SNAP benefits will be delayed for the first time since the program’s inception,” they wrote in the 51-page lawsuit. “Even worse, the USDA suspended SNAP benefits even though, according to available information, it has sufficient funds to finance all or at least a substantial portion of November’s SNAP benefits.”

The plaintiffs also claim that the government could tap into another Department of Agriculture fund that, as of early October, held $23 billion. Just weeks ago, the White House used that same budget allocation to prevent the interruption of another federal food assistance program for pregnant women and low-income children, known as WIC, during the government shutdown.

However, Justice Department lawyers maintain that the Department of Agriculture lacks the authority to disburse funds for the benefits until Congress passes a spending bill ending the shutdown. Negotiations continue at the Capitol with no agreement in sight.

President Trump’s party continues to blame Democrats for the shutdown and, by extension, for the potential suspension of SNAP. Republicans continue to falsely accuse Democrats of wanting to fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants, which is prohibited under federal law. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers refuse to pass a budget that does not include an extension of the health insurance subsidies approved during the pandemic.

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In the early hours of September 7, the Donald Trump administration did what no previous federal administration had done in 44 years: attempted to dismantle the peace vigil that has been held in front of the White House since 1981. It is popularly known as the longest continuous demonstration in U.S. history.

“President Trump is committed to the public safety of D.C. residents and visitors, as well as the beautification of our nation’s capital,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers explained in a statement. The president ordered the action after a conservative journalist told him at a press conference two days earlier that the protesters’ tent was an “eyesore.”

The anecdote underscores the singularity and superficiality of one of the most ambitious goals Trump has pursued since returning to the White House: transforming the nation’s capital and its most iconic political buildings into a true reflection of the “new gilded age.” An imperial presidency demands grand architecture and opulent décor —and Trump wants one of his legacies to be precisely the creation of that image.

Historically, large buildings have been a symbol of strength and supremacy. As Sergi Miquel Valentí writes in his book Arquitectura y poder (Architecture and Power): “Styles have been designed to frighten, cathedrals have been built to intimidate, and urban planning has been used to guide our lives.” Trump knows this very well. He and his family amassed their wealth as real estate developers. In New York, the city of skyscrapers, he knew that the best way to make himself known was through large towers. And he spread that philosophy throughout a globalized world where wealth is measured, in many cases, by how many floors a building has. Currently, Trump dominates the skies of 18 cities with more than 30 architectural projects that bear his surname.

On the same day he returned to the White House, Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal buildings adhere to a “regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage.” Architectural experts have criticized the measure, claiming it seeks to construct a false narrative: that the country is the cradle of Western civilization, while denying the diversity and styles genuinely originating in a geographical area as vast as the United States.

In a nation where the most iconic buildings have stood for decades, the scope of this measure is limited. Yet it is far from the only initiative the president has undertaken. He is advancing the most significant transformation of the White House and Washington in decades. Will this enable him to successfully impose his narrative of a new gilded age?

That same afternoon, September 7, after dismantling the 44-year vigil, the protesters who maintain it every day rebuilt it in front of the White House. A simple demonstration that tearing down to rebuild — and to reshape citizens’ minds — can be far harder than doing so with buildings and their walls.

The imperial capital

Every great empire must have an admired capital. Accordingly, Trump’s political narrative positions Washington as a decadent city that he seeks to reclaim, so it can once again astonish the world. It is a striking example of how urban intervention can become a core element of political messaging, even when it involves measures that experts say constitute an abuse of power or pose risks to citizens. Since returning to the presidency, his interventions in the city span the cultural, political, and military spheres.

From the White House to the Gold House

In the 17th century, King Louis XIV of France adopted the sun as his emblem to symbolize his central and absolute power. That is why, even today, various allegories of the sun can still be seen throughout the Palace of Versailles, the place to which he moved the court and transformed into the center of his reign. Gold, yellow like the sun, became a fundamental part of its décor.

Trump is reviving this tradition. Even before becoming president, his Manhattan penthouse and his Mar-a-Lago home demonstrated his understanding of gold and maximalist ornamentation as symbols of power. Now he is bringing that style to the White House, even relocating a designer from Mar-a-Lago to Washington via Air Force One. They call him his “Gold Guy.” Trump plans to build a ballroom and banquet hall with golden chandeliers, capable of holding 650 to 900 people, and has covered the walls and furniture of the Oval Office in gold decorations. And make no mistake — it is real gold, as he clarified in a social media post.

The companies behind the decorations

The renovations at the White House extend beyond the new banquet hall and the Oval Office. Trump also replaced the lawn of the iconic Rose Garden, designed during John F. Kennedy’s presidency, with a concrete floor (Trump said it was designed to prevent women’s heels from sinking into muddy ground), replaced trees in the garden, added new flagpoles, and refurbished the flooring in several rooms. He is so proud of his role as master builder that he gives tours to journalists and international leaders. The total cost is estimated at around $250 million. To fund it, he negotiates donations from various companies that are seeking a good relationship with an administration that keeps detailed records of contributions from every major private-sector player. The Democratic Party is investigating these negotiations from Congress.

Redecorations as an attack

The changes at the White House are not limited to showcasing power through opulence. They also aim to minimize and discredit Trump’s predecessors — the Republican and Democratic figures whom his political narrative holds responsible for putting the United States in a state of weakness that he must fix. In August, he moved the portraits of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and George H. W. Bush to a less public and less visible location. In September, he created a presidential hall of fame with portraits of every president — except Joe Biden, his immediate successor, whose portrait he replaced with a photo of an autopen, referencing the tool Biden used to sign certain executive orders.

Cult of personality

Beyond gold and neoclassical architecture, another decorative element is becoming increasingly common in Washington: the president’s face. Both in government buildings and private-sector initiatives, homage is paid to Trump by displaying his image in public spaces. According to a report by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, at least $50,000 has been spent on large posters of the president on the façades of buildings such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin industry installed a temporary 3.6-meter-tall golden statue of the president in front of Congress.

To find out more

Books:

• Sergi Miquel Valentí: Architecture and Power
• Peter York: The style of dictators

Articles:

• Pedro Torrijos: The pitfalls of the “beautiful civil architecture” promoted by Donald Trump
• Meredith McGraw, Josh Dawsey and Julie Wernau: How Trump and His ‘Gold Guy’ Are Redecorating the White House
• Sergi Miquel Valentí: This is how Donald Trump uses architecture to convey his vision of the United States
• Cuneyt Dil: Trump’s D.C. utopia
• Antoni Gutierrez-Rubí: Trump, imperial
• Marc Caputo: Don the Builder: Inside Trump’s White House makeover

Videos and podcasts:

• AP: Trump turns the White House Rose Garden into the Rose Garden Club
• PBS: A look at Trump’s effort to reshape the White House in his image
• The Hill: Trump Putting Personal Stamp On The White House: Ballroom, Flagpoles, Rose Garden Patio
• CBC: Rating Trump’s golden White House makeover
• Fox News: President Trump gives an exclusive tour of the Oval Office

Studies:

• Adam Schiff: Propaganda: How the Trump Administration Breaks the Law and Spends Tax Money on Images of Itself