Shutdowns began as a way to enforce federal law. Now Trump is using it to take more power

The government shutdown, already the second-longest in history, with no end in sight, is quickly becoming a way for President Donald Trump to exercise new command over the government. In fact, it all started with an attempt to tighten Washington’s observance of federal law. The modern phenomena of the U.S. government closing down services began in 1980 with a series of legal opinions from Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, who was serving under Democratic President Jimmy Carter.