White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that layoffs for federal employees will begin if President Donald Trump decides that congressional negotiations to end the government shutdown "are absolutely going nowhere."

"I think that everybody's still hopeful that when we get a fresh start at the beginning of the week, that we can get the Democrats to see that it's just common sense to avoid layoffs like that," Hassett said on CNN's "State of the Union."

His comments come as the government shutdown enters its fifth day, with no clear offramp in sight.

Democrats are holding their ground on their health-care demands, pushing to include a permanent extension of enhanced premium tax credits in any government funding legislation.

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