As the United States government shutdown extends into its 20th day, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett says he believes it is likely to end this week.
The comments come after the “No Kings” protests across the country against President Donald Trump.
Hassett claimed he heard from the Senate that Democrats thought it would be “bad optics” to reopen the government before the protests.
“Now there’s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly,” Hassett said.
“The moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at which point we could negotiate whatever policies they want to negotiate with regular order.”
However, Hassett also said if this does not happen, the Trump administration may compose “stronger measures” to force democrats to cooperate.
Trump has already frozen US$11 billion in infrastructure projects and US$28 billion in transportations and energy projects for Democratic-controlled states and cities.
He also attempted to cut thousands of jobs before these plans were temporarily blocked.
Republicans widely Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the shutdown, who was fighting for additional spending on health-care protections alongside other democrats.
However, polls show that voters blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, indicating strong support for extending the healthcare protections Democrats are fighting for.
