President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 30) suggested that a government shutdown could be leveraged to inflict political and policy setbacks on Democrats. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump warned that a shutdown could allow irreversible cuts to programs and benefits Democrats support.

“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” Trump said.

“You all know Russell Vought, he’s become very popular recently because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way,” Trump said. “So they’re taking a risk by having a shutdown.”

Trump indicated that the shutdown could affect benefits progra

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