Trump’s Own Economists Say Shutdown Will Cost Economy Double What They Thought It Would

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 2: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Netherlands Prime Minster Mark Rutte (not pictured) in the OVal Office of The White House on July 2, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)

As the longest government shutdown in history drags on, Donald Trump‘s own White House economists now say that the economic consequences are double what they originally estimated, and other economists say the shutdown could significantly contract the economy.

On Tuesday evening, The New York Times reported that Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers have doubled their previous estimate of the shutdown’s effect on economic growth, and chief White House economist Kevin Hassett revealed that the toll has already reached a disturbing level:

Mr. Hassett said on Tuesday that the administration now calculates that the shutdown reduces quarterly economic growth by 0.13 percentage points for every week that it lasts — the cumulative effect of lost work from contractors and furloughed federal employees who are not getting paid and who are investing and spending less as a result. That means that the economy has already lost nearly half a percentage point of growth from the four-week shutdown.

Hassett “continued to blame Democrats for the economic damage,” the paper said.

But according to a raft of new polls, Americans overwhelmingly blame Trump and the Republicans for the shutdown, and Americans remain steadfastly opposed to the border wall funding that Trump has demanded in exchange for reopening the government.

Trump has said he would keep the shutdown going for “months or even years,” but at .13 percent a week, he might not be able to afford that promise.