Mnuchin: I can’t rule out a government shutdown ‘two days before Christmas’

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said he cannot imagine a government shutdown taking place days before the Christmas holiday if Congress cannot strike a deal on a spending bill, adding that he also cannot rule out the possibility.

“I can’t rule it out, but I can’t imagine it occurring,” Mnuchin told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”

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The finance chief said if Congress cannot reach a deal by Friday, the deadline to pass a spending bill, then they would have to pass a “short-term extension” into January in order to gain time to come to an agreement.

“I would expect that both the House and the Senate, Republicans and Democrats, understand that if they can’t agree on this, they need to have another short-term extension to move this to January. We can’t have a government shutdown in front of Christmas,” he added.

His remarks come as lawmakers scramble to reach a deal on a spending bill that would include a full year of defense funding as well as financing short-term fixes for other programs.

Even if Republicans have every GOP senator on board, they will need the support of at least eight Democratic senators to pass a funding bill through the upper chamber.

“I just can’t imagine sending government workers home for Christmas. I hope Congress gets this done,” he added, declining to comment on the impact a shutdown would have.