President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that a “substantial” number of jobs will be permanently lost if the government shutdown continues, as he ripped the Democratic Party for having “no leader.”
Trump, speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House, said, “We have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate.”
“I’ll be able to tell you that in four or five days if this keeps going on… If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial. And a lot of those jobs will never come back. But you’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget, actually,” Trump added.
The president has blamed Democrats for the government shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. ET last Wednesday.
TRUMP SAYS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LAYOFFS ARE ‘UP TO’ DEMS AS STANDOFF CONTINUES
“Because of the shutdown, which I think they made a big mistake, we’re able to take out billions and billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse,” Trump said Tuesday.
Trump described Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as a “serious person, very serious person.”
“And he’s sitting there, and he’s getting ready to cut things. And this is something that was handed to us by, I assume, [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer. I don’t — I just don’t know if Schumer has any power anymore,” Trump continued. “I look at your leadership. I don’t know who to speak to. I’ll tell you what, I’m getting calls from Democrats wanting to meet. I never even heard their names before… the Democrats have no leader.”
“They remind me of Somalia,” Trump added. “You know, and I met the president of Somalia. I told him about the problem, this guy, and I said, ‘You have somebody from Somalia who’s telling us how to run our country. She’s from Somalia. Would you like to take her back?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t want her.’ Okay. You know who I’m talking about.”
Trump appeared to have been indirectly referencing progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as he has claimed in the past that the Somalian president does not want the congresswoman to return to her country of origin.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS FEDERAL LAYOFFS COULD HIT ‘THOUSANDS’ AHEAD OF TRUMP, VOUGHT MEETING
At the beginning of the shutdown, federal agencies sent home workers in roles not considered essential.
These furloughs are temporary. Once Congress resolves the standoff, employees typically return to work and receive back pay.
This time, however, the Trump administration has warned that some furloughed workers may not return, turning a routine disruption into a potential blow to an already fragile labor market.
Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
