Patrick Griffin worked in the White House for Democratic president Bill Clinton and participated in negotiations with Republican lawmakers during the 1995 government shutdown — the longest in recent US history. Now a professor at American University, Griffin analyzes the current shutdown — sparked by a dispute over funding for President Donald Trump’s controversial border wall — that has paralyzed the American government since December 22. “The reality is now nobody is paying much attention to it in the middle of the holidays… but as the battle shifts to the more general public, I think the messaging on the Democratic side will be more aggressive,” Griffin said.
