President Donald Trump has “brought down the temperature” on Minnesota, the site of major civil unrest over aggressive federal immigration efforts, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
Trump is now “urging” Congress to take action to avoid triggering a partial government shutdown amid disputes over federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security, Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
The shutdown could begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday unless lawmakers come to a resolution on the DHS funding, which a slew of Democrats have rejected in light of the recent killing of nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Trump is “in constant contact” with lawmakers “and he is urging them not to shut down the government,” Bessent told CNBC.
The Cabinet secretary declined to make a prediction about whether a shutdown — the second in less than four months — will be averted.
“I don’t know what to expect. The Democrats can become unhinged like they were last time, and they don’t care. Like, they think this is a way to stop President Trump,” he said.
He also warned that another shutdown could cause further economic harm.
“Especially on the service side, when the government shut down, that never comes back. So, there’s a big permanent loss,” Bessent said.
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