WASHINGTON - Trump administration officials and top Republicans warned on Sunday that Americans will increasingly feel the pain of an ongoing US government shutdown as most federal operations remained shuttered.
With Democrats refusing to give in over their demands for continued government health care subsidies in the budget, the White House says plans are being finalised for the firing of thousands of federal workers.
Shutdowns are a periodic feature of gridlocked Washington when the two parties cannot agree on budget priorities. All non-essential workers are temporarily furloughed, or left without pay, while the parties work out their differences.
This time, the stakes are higher, with President Donald Trump telling reporters Sunday that the administration had already started to permanently fire -- not merely furlough -- government employees.
"It's taking place right now. It's all because of the Democrats. The Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs," Trump said, blaming his rivals as he has done since the start of the impasse.
The shutdown, in its fifth day, has shown no signs of ending, with a top Democrat saying there had been no talks between congressional leaders since Monday.
Kevin Hassett, who directs the White House's National Economic Council, told CNN that there was hope for progress in talks in the coming week.
Trump himself sounded resigned to the shutdown dragging on.
Talks will center on addressing expiring Obamacare health subsidies. The Senate's Republican majority leader acknowledged the two sides were currently "at a stalemate."
The shutdown's effect on the economy is rattling Americans, with 49 percent of respondents saying they were very concerned and 31 percent somewhat concerned, compared to just 20 percent saying they are not concerned.
The country's last government shutdown, beginning in December 2018, occurred during Trump's first presidential term and lasted a record 35 days.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that shutdown cost the US economy about $11 billion.