President Donald Trump could “start taking sharp measures” on Monday if the government shutdown continues after the Senate’s next votes on stopgap funding bills, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said.
Hassett’s warning on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” came after he said Democrats will be to blame for “any government worker that loses their job” due to reduction-in-force orders issued in response to the shutdown.
The Trump administration has repeatedly asserted that the shutdown will result in thousands of federal employees being laid off, rather than merely furloughed, as has been the case in past funding lapses.
Hassett said Monday morning that he expects Trump and other officials will be in the Oval Office watching the Senate’s upcoming vote on a Republican funding proposal that, if passed, would end the shutdown.
Dueling Republican and Democratic bills have already failed to pass numerous times since the shutdown began six days earlier, after party leaders could not negotiate a compromise to keep the government open.
