Thursday marks the 30th day of the federal government shutdown, and the American public has become more concerned about the shutdown throughout the month and more disapproving of how President Donald Trump is handling the federal government, according to a ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos Poll conducted using the Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
More Americans blame Trump and Republicans in Congress than Democrats for the shutdown, according to the survey.
The United States Capitol rises above the US Capitol grounds, which are covered in fall leaves, weeks after the continued US government shutdown, in Washington, October 27, 2025.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Three-quarters of Americans say they are worried about the government shutdown, up from two-thirds who said the same on the first day of the shutdown in a Washington Post poll. Now, 43% of Americans say they are “very” concerned about the shutdown, up from 25% on October 1.
Nearly half of Americans, 45%, say Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, while 33% say congressional Democrats are responsible and another 22% are unsure. That’s barely a change from the Post’s Oct. 1 poll, when 47% blamed Trump and Republicans, 30% blamed Democrats and 23% were unsure at the start of the shutdown.
Democrats are more united in saying Trump and Republicans are to blame for the shutdown (81%) than Republicans are saying Democrats are to blame (72%). Twice as many independents say Trump and Republicans are responsible (46%) as Democrats (23%).
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, Oct. 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Majorities of all parties say they are worried about the shutdown: Nearly nine in 10 Democrats along with more than seven in 10 independents and more than six in 10 Republicans are worried about the shutdown, but more Democrats say they are “very” worried (62%) than independents (43%) or Republicans (26%).
Concern about the closure is highest among women, with 81% expressing concern, compared to 68% of men.
And a growing share of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is running the federal government. In total, 63% disapprove today, up from 57% in April and 54% in February. Just over a third (36%) approve in the most recent survey.
The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll asked Americans to explain why they think Trump and either Republicans or Democrats are to blame for the federal government shutdown. These are some of their written responses:
Among those who blame Trump and the Republicans:
“They will not give in to concerns about skyrocketing healthcare premiums for all Americans. He is not for all Americans, only his interests matter,” said a 65-year-old Democratic woman in Wisconsin.
“They seem more interested in maintaining power than working for the benefit of the country,” said a 78-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Oregon.
“They control every part of the federal government,” said a 45-year-old Democrat in Tennessee.
“Trump is the president and the Republicans have the majority. Not only that, President Johnson let the House go on vacation, and Trump and the Republicans won’t even try to work with the Democrats on the loss of health care funding that will hurt millions of people,” said a 34-year-old Democratic woman in Minnesota.
“Trump himself said a few years ago that it’s the president’s job to bring the two sides together,” said a 59-year-old Democratic-leaning independent in Pennsylvania.
“President Trump and the Maga Republican Party refuse to negotiate over the expiration of the Affordable Care Act, regardless of the negative impact on many of their supporters, and have no alternative plans to prevent the cost of health care from rising,” said a 69-year-old Democratic woman in Virginia.
“Republicans control Congress. They won’t negotiate. Of course they are responsible. We can’t take away health care from millions of Americans,” said a 40-year-old Democratic woman in Iowa.
“They refuse to negotiate in good faith,” said a 78-year-old Democratic-leaning independent from Ohio.
Among those who blame Democrats:
“They want me to pay for health care for illegal immigrants out of my pocket. It’s not right,” said a 78-year-old Republican woman in Oregon.
“Because they won’t budge,” said a 37-year-old Republican-leaning independent from Arizona.
“They want to negotiate health care subsidies, but they don’t want to conduct the negotiation in the relevant House and Senate committees. “They’re holding the entire government hostage over one issue,” said a 78-year-old Republican in South Carolina.
“They voted against the continuation resolutions several times,” said a 56-year-old Republican-leaning independent in Nebraska.
“The Democrats are the ones who won’t budge on a deal,” said a 43-year-old independent from Texas.
“Democrats have supported elements of the continuing resolution and are demanding things that will continue to increase the debt,” said a 69-year-old Republican-leaning independent from California.
“Republicans offered and passed a clean bill with no Republican additions and Democrats continually vote against it,” said a 76-year-old Republican in Texas.
Methodology: This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted online via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel® from October 24-28, 2025, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 2,725 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, including design effects. The margins of error are greater for subgroups. The partisan divisions are 28% Democrats, 31% Republicans and 41%
See more details about ABC News’ survey methodology here.
