President Donald Trump on Friday insisted that the Democrats' ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is modeled after last year's wider government shutdown, which "Cost the U.S.A. at least two points GDP."
He also launched an attack against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and demanded immediate interest rate cuts.
"The Democrat Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP," Trump posted on his Truth Social page. "That's why they are doing it, in mini form, again. No Shutdowns! Also, LOWER INTEREST RATES. 'Two Late' Powell is the WORST!!! President DJT."
Trump's comments that last year's shutdown reduced gross domestic product are supported by reports released during the peak of last year's standoff, when the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report estimating that an eight-week shutdown would reduce annualized real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 by 2 percentage points.
While the CBO noted that much of this loss would be recovered in the following quarter as back pay was issued and federal spending resumed, it also identified a permanent economic loss of up to $14 billion due to unrecovered federal work hours.
Private firms like Goldman Sachs and EY-US echoed these concerns, noting that every week of a shutdown typically shaves 0.2 percentage points off annualized growth.
The current "mini form" shutdown began on Feb. 14, disrupting funding for agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard.
Democrats have framed the funding pause as a necessary response to the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis last month.
In a 10-point report delivered to the White House, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Democrats will not vote for the funding without several "common-sense" reforms governing immigration enforcement being codified into law.
These include requiring officers to present judicial warrants before entering private property, banning masks for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents, requiring that they display name tags and identification, and other guidelines that the Trump administration has dismissed as being "unserious."
Meanwhile, Trump's jab at Powell comes as the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into him regarding his testimony to Congress about the $2.6 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve's headquarters.
Powell has publicly hit back, releasing a video statement in January 2026 calling the probe a "pretext" for political pressure intended to force his hand on interest rates.
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