**Top White House Economic Advisor Predicts Government Shutdown Could End This Week**
Top White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett on Monday predicted that the government shutdown is “likely to end sometime this week.” Speaking on CNBC’s *Squawk Box*, Hassett noted that if the shutdown does not end soon, the Trump administration may impose “stronger measures” to force Democrats to cooperate.
The comments come deep into the third week of the shutdown, which continues with no clear resolution in sight amid a partisan fight in the Senate over federal funding priorities.
Republicans want to pass a short-term resolution to resume funding at current levels. Meanwhile, Democrats demand that any stopgap bill include additional spending on health care protections, including an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits set to expire at year’s end.
Hassett said on CNBC that he has heard from the Senate that Democrats considered it “bad optics” to vote to reopen the government before this weekend’s massive nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump.
“Now there’s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly,” Hassett said. “The moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at which point we could negotiate whatever policies they want to negotiate with regular order.”
Referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), whom Republicans blame for the funding lapse, Hassett added, “I think the Schumer shutdown is likely to end sometime this week.”
However, if the shutdown does not end soon, Hassett warned that “the White House is going to have to look very closely, along with [White House budget chief Russell] Vought, at stronger measures that we could take to bring them to the table.”
Hassett’s remarks suggest that Democrats may be waiting for a politically opportune moment to resolve the shutdown fight. Nevertheless, numerous polls indicate that more voters blame President Trump and Republicans for the impasse. Additionally, there is strong public support for extending the ACA health insurance subsidies, yet Democrats have largely stood firm on their demands.
“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer told Punchbowl News earlier this month. “Because we’ve thought about this long in advance and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30 and we prepared for it.”
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/20/trump-hassett-government-shutdown.html
