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

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