Treasury Secretary Bessent says U.S. GDP could take a hit from the government shutdown

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that U.S. economic growth could be hurt by the government shutdown.

“This isn’t the way to have a discussion, shutting down the government and lowering the GDP,” Bessent said during a CNBC “Squawk Box” interview. “We could see a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth and a hit to working America.”

The Cabinet official spoke on the second day of the government closure as the two warring sides in Washington, D.C., have yet to come to an agreement on a continuing resolution that would allow spending and operations to proceed.

Growth in the U.S. has been on upward trajectory over the past two quarters after the economy slogged through the early part of the year.

Gross domestic product rose at a 3.8% annualized pace in the second quarter, and, according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve GDPNow tracker, is on track to grow at the same rate for the recently completed third quarter.