The government shutdown provided a short-term version of what some activists have long wanted: A government small enough so that you could 'drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.'
Donald Trump prepares to give the 2018 US State of the Union address.
Wikimedia
Trump is not the first US president to talk about border security, but he is the only one to make it an "urgent national crisis". Here is a handy deconstruction of President Trump's rhetorical strategy.
Australia’s unspoken antipathy to experience is not new, but contrasts sharply with the attitude found in other countries such as the US.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
A corrosive ageism in Australian politics overvalues the new, while discounting experience. If the US and UK can see the value in older politicians, why can't we?
Donald Trump presents a wall design during a discussion on border security.
EPA/Shawn Thew
The partial shut-down has ratcheted up tensions within the Republican party and added to speculation that President Trump will face a primary challenge some time before the 2020 presidential election.
US President Donald Trump and Republicans are losing the blame game over the shutdown.
AAP/EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo