United States President Donald Trump continues to threaten mass layoffs as the government shutdown enters a second week.
As closure entered its fifth day, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNN he believed there was a chance the Democrats would yield to avoid a costly political and economic crisis.
The shutdown came as Democrats and Republicans were at an impasse about how to spend government funds.
Trump has continually blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
“It’s taking place right now and it’s all because of the Democrats,” Trump told reporters.
“The Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs.”
Democrats are fighting to renew subsidies to cover health insurance costs for millions of households, while Trump wants to preserve government spending and thinks the Democrats will stand down to avoid putting federal jobs and projects at risk.
Leaders on both sides are hoping public sentiment will swing their way to give them leverage. However, a recent survey found that only 28% of democrats and 23% of republicans believe their party’s positions are worth shutting down the government.
The shutdown could lead to the U.S. losing around US$7 billion in economic activity for each week it continues, in a time when the country is already in economic turmoil.
While the U.S. economy has continued to grow this year and inflation remains elevated, Trump’s tariffs have created a series of disruptions for businesses and hurt confidence in his leadership.
The US$2 billion annual budget deficit is also financially unsustainable.
According to House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, who tried to work out a deal with Trump before the shutdown, said there were no talks with Republicans since their last White House meeting last Monday.
“And, unfortunately, since that point in time, Republicans, including Donald Trump, have gone radio silent,” Jeffries said.
“And what we’ve seen is negotiation through deepfake videos, the House cancelling votes, and of course, President Trump spending yesterday on the golf course. That’s not responsible behaviour.”
