Congress ended the week without solving the shutdown, which is now on its 22nd day. The shutdown is now officially the longest in US history, with the second-longest occurring for 21 days between 1995 and 1996. Although no progress was made on resolving the spending bill impasse, the House and Senate both approved legislation that would ensure federal workers receive back pay when the shutdown does eventually end. The bill requires Trump's signature. The House has also written bills that would help fund and reopen a few critical shuttered departments, but those are not expected to survive the House. Meanwhile, federal employees missed their first paychecks due to the shutdown. Thousands of them have begun filing for unemployment benefits. It appears that the Trump administration is actively working to declare a state of emergency and use some of the $13.9 billion reserved in the Army's funds for civil works, such as storm recovery. Trump canceled scheduled his scheduled appearance at the Davos World Economic Forum due to the shutdown.

The political cost to Trump of the ongoing fight is unclear. Only 51% of Americans believe Trump shoulders most of the blame for the shutdown, yet 74% of Americans believe that the shutdown is embarrassing, while 72% are certain the shutdown will hurt the country. A mere 39% of Americans want the wall, and polls show that the majority of Americans don't support the wall without funding from Mexico. Trump repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for the wall during his campaign and after taking office; however, Trump recently publicly denied ever having made such a statement.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has begun withdrawing equipment from Syria, though troops are still present. Trump has declined to release details about winding down operations, citing security concerns.

The various investigations against the president are still ongoing. Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who has been sentenced to prison, has agreed to publicly testify in front of the House about his involvement with Trump. More information has emerged about Paul Manafort's involvement with Russian intelligence services. As the Mueller investigation carries on, White House attorney Rudy Giuliani has said it would only be fair for the White House to review and redact his report before it's released to the public in the event that the report is wrong. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appeared in danger of being dismissed by the Trump administration over the summer of 2018, has announced that he will be leaving the Justice Department in the coming weeks. He doesn't have a set departure date, and will likely stay until Mueller's investigation is complete or a new deputy attorney general is confirmed. There is no evidence to suggest that Rosenstein is being forced out.