Shutdown’s economic impact getting ‘worse and worse,’ warns Bessent, says US economy faces deeper hit

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Saturday that the economic damage due to the ongoing government shutdown is worsening, and the effects are gradually spreading across major industries and putting additional pressure on federal finances. Bessent said the situation was deteriorating “day by day,” as the prolonged disruption has started to undermine key sectors, delay public spending, and weaken financial stability.

Economists warn that the shutdown, the longest ever now, risks eroding confidence among businesses and households unless a resolution is reached soon. The shutdown is hurting consumer confidence, delaying federal payments, and disrupting air travel, food aid, and essential government services.

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“We had a fantastic economy under President Trump the past two quarters, and now there are estimates that the economic growth for this quarter could be cut by as much as half if the shutdown continues,” Bessent said.

“I can tell you what we’re not going to do is what happened under the Biden administration, where the administration and the media gaslit everyone and said, oh, you know, there’s a vibe session. You don’t understand how good you have it. And what happened then was we had the worst inflation in 40 or 50 years. You know, 22, 23 per cent, but the basket of goods and services for working Americans was up more than 30 percent. And what we’re seeing is we had to stop the increase first,” he added.

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“Now we are starting to see prices level off and come down. You know, gasoline is down, interest rates are down, some mortgages are down. And I think we are making substantial progress on that. And I think over the coming months and the next year, prices are going to come down.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also warned on Sunday that air traffic across the US could “slow to a trickle” if the federal government shutdown continues into the busy Thanksgiving travel season, as flight cancellations and staff shortages deepen the crisis in the aviation sector.

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