Shutdown could cost US economy $15 billion a week, Treasury says [View all]
Source: Reuters
October 15, 2025 9:58 PM EDT Updated 5 hours ago
Washington, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The two-week-old federal government shutdown may cost the U.S. economy as much as $15 billion a week in lost output, a Treasury official said late on Wednesday, correcting an earlier statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that put the cost at up to $15 billion per day.
Bessent used the incorrect estimate in two separate appearances earlier on Wednesday, while urging Democrats to "be heroes" and side with Republicans to end it. A Treasury official said the cost estimate was based on a report by the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Bessent told a news conference that the shutdown was starting to "cut into muscle" of the U.S. economy.
The wave of investment into the U.S. economy, including into artificial intelligence, is sustainable and is only getting started, but the federal government shutdown is increasingly an impediment, Bessent said.
"There is pent-up demand, but then President (Donald) Trump has unleashed this boom with his policies," Bessent said at a CNBC event held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-investment-boom-is-sustainable-bessent-says-2025-10-15/
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