White House economic adviser says shutdown 'likely to end this week'

WASHINGTON

The ongoing government shutdown is “likely to end sometime this week,” said the White House economic adviser on Monday.

“The president has been very active throughout this process, but it’s also his position that this is a thing that the Senate needs to work out,” Kevin Hassett said in an interview with CNBC.

“A lot of our friends in the Senate have said that it was just bad optics for Democrats to open the government before the rally, and that now there’s a shot that this week, things will come together,” he added, apparently referring to claims that Democrats were resisting reopening the government before nationwide "No Kings" protests against the Trump administration over the weekend. Democrats have denied any link.

If things do move forward, the Trump administration may impose “stronger measures” to force Democrats to cooperate, Hassett said.

The government shutdown began on Oct. 1 after a breakdown in negotiations over federal spending priorities.

Thousands of federal workers have since been furloughed or are working without pay, while government services – from the IRS answering taxpayers’ questions to visitor centers at National Parks – have been curtailed or suspended.

The issue heated up as steep price hikes for health insurance are starting to be made public. The Democrats have demanded continued government subsidies to keep these insurance plans affordable for millions of Americans before approving a stopgap spending measure to reopen the government.

They say as the government was able to afford tax cuts for billionaires in Trump’s signature spending plan over the summer, it can also afford health care subsidies for lower- and middle-income Americans.