President Donald Trump announced on Monday his desire to maintain the integrity of the Senate-approved legislation aimed at concluding the partial government shutdown, without any amendments.
Trump announced on Truth Social on Monday afternoon that he does not want to see amendments to the bill, as Democrats plan not to vote for it over short-term Department of Homeland Security funding, and some conservative Republicans have sought election-integrity add-ons.
In a statement, Trump expressed his stance clearly.
Later that day, during a signing event in the Oval Office for Project Vault—a $12 billion initiative to build a critical-mineral reserve—the president shared his optimism about Congress nearing a solution. When asked by a reporter about the status of negotiations, Trump replied, “I spoke with Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune, and I think they’re fairly close to reaching a resolution.”
He further reflected on the economic impact of the shutdown, stating, “We were achieving a 5.6 percent GDP growth before losing a point and a half due to the 42-day shutdown. Just imagine—we could have reached seven percent, which is an unprecedented figure.”
Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, had previously noted during the November shutdown orchestrated by the Democrats that the U.S. economy was losing $15 billion weekly, potentially reducing the fourth-quarter GDP by 1-1.5 percentage points.
“Well, I spoke with Speaker Johnson, I spoke with Leader Thune, and I think they’re pretty close to a resolution,” he said.
“You know, we were at 5.6 percent GDP, and we lost a point and a half because of the 42-day shutdown. Think of that: we would have been at seven. Nobody ever saw a number like seven,” he added.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said during the Democrat shutdown in November that it was costing the United States 15 billion each week, which would knock 1-1.5 percentage points off fourth-quarter gross domestic product.
“But despite that, we have the highest numbers we’ve ever had,” Trump added Monday. “We’re doing well, we’re going right through it, but I will say that I spoke with Senator Schumer numerous times, and I don’t think they want to see a shutdown either.”
