The Big Story

Pressure points: 5 ways the shutdown could end

Something will have to give if lawmakers hope to reopen the government in any timely fashion, and that movement will likely be the result of external forces exerting pressure on one party — or both of them — to break the deadlock.

© Greg Nash

That’s been the case in the protracted shutdowns of years past, when a number of outside factors — from economic sirens to public frustration — have combined to compel lawmakers to cede ground and carry their policy battles to another day.

Public sentiment: Among the most recycled quotes on Capitol Hill is attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “Public sentiment is everything.” The trouble, in these early stages of the shutdown fight, is that the verdict is still out on where that sentiment wil

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