Top Trump adviser predicts economy will ‘snap back’ after shutdown

President Trump’s top economic adviser on Tuesday predicted that the ongoing partial government shutdown will not do lasting damage to the U.S. economy.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters at the White House that while he would not predict when the government would reopen, he expects to see “an immediate snapback” for the economy when it does.

“When the government reopens – and I’m not here to negotiate; I’m not going to make a prediction, that’s up to the president – you will see an immediate snapback,” he said.

Kudlow acknowledged that there are “hardships” for federal workers and others affected by the shutdown, which is now in its second month, but said that “resources will come back, I mean literally, the day of” the shutdown’s end.{mosads}

“We’ve seen this before. There will be snapback. Immediately. That’s my sense,” he said.

The shutdown, which began Dec. 22, may inflict even more economic pain on roughly 800,000 federal workers who are expected to miss a second paycheck this week.

Analyses conducted by the White House and outside experts show the prolonged shutdown could slow gross domestic product growth or force the U.S. economy into a contraction.

Kudlow on Tuesday called on Democrats to return to the negotiating table and “shoulder their share of the negotiation.” He argued that addressing illegal immigration and drug smuggling along the border is just as important as the shutdown.

“This is a pivotal moment,” he said, adding that there are “other hardships down at the border.”

Kudlow gave an impromptu question-and-answer session at the lectern inside the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room after an appearance on CNBC.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has not conducted a formal briefing since Dec. 18, a decision Trump earlier Tuesday blamed on the news media’s treatment of his spokeswoman.