The Smithsonian’s collection of museums and galleries remain closed to the public this week as the US federal government partial shutdown entered its 17th day on Monday 7 January.

The shutdown began on 22 December 2018, caused by a dispute between US President Donald Trump and the opposition Democrat-controlled House of Representatives over funding for a wall or barrier along the border between the US and Mexico – a key campaign pledge by President Trump.

The Smithsonian has 19 museums and galleries, plus the US National Zoological Park, and is the largest museum organisation in the world. Its most recent statement on the shutdown was on 2 January 2019, when it emphasised that animals at the zoo would continue to be cared for during the enforced closure.

Two-thirds of the Smithsonian’s annual income is reported to come from its federal budget of US$1bn (€872.3m, £783.1m).

Now well into its third week, and already the third longest federal government shutdown in history, there seems little chance of the impasse being solved in the short term according to US media, as both Republicans and Democrats stick to their guns. President Trump is looking for US$5.6bn (€4.8bn, £4.3bn) for southern border security measures, including the controversial wall, while the Democrats have offered to release US$1.3bn (€1.1bn, £1bn), favouring a more technology-based solution to what the administration says is a "national crisis".