Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the impact of the US Government shutdown and it ending

The US Government is business as usual after the longest shutdown in US history – but only till January.

US President Donald Trump's signed a bill to end the shutdown and fund the government, while providing back-pay to federal workers.

It's caused a divide among Democrats, as it doesn't ensure access to Affordable Care subsidies.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking the shutdown costs are estimated to be around NZ$24.6 billion per week, or as much as 1.5% of the GDP.

He says the National Economic Council is estimating that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs during the period.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Richard, how are you. I'm doing well. More place for
you'll open almost after forty three days. Yeah, the longest
US government shutdown ever is ending, and what came out
of it all. The National Economic Council is estimating that
sixty thousand non federal workers lost their jobs. The shutdown
costs are estimated at twenty four point six billion dollars

(00:22):
New Zealand per week, or as much as one point
five percent of the GDP. The timing for when furloughed
workers will get their back pay will vary by agency.
Many have missed a couple of full paychecks. There have
been widespread economic pains, except for the politicians, of course,
who were paid all the way through this. The airlines
say they hope the air traffic control system will be

(00:42):
back to normal by the startup next week. In terms
of the politics, the off your elections, the most recent
and the most recent polling shows that just under one
third of Americans think this country is headed in the
right direction. So this would seem to give Democrats some opening,
even as polls for them have been in the dumps months.
Throughout the shutdown, Trump has had well, basically little input. Instead,

(01:04):
he's been taking Fox News on a tour of his
White House upgrades, saying this is his greatest talent and adding,
you can't immitate gold, real gold. So these aren't from
home depot, quipped Fox host Laura Ingram, referring to reports
that some of these sconsors are the same as those
sold in the hardware store. Now, this is not home
depot stuff, said Trump, who lashed out during the shutdown

(01:25):
of air traffic controllers who couldn't keep working without pay
for weeks and weeks and weeks, and slam states that
tried to keep money flying for food, money for the poor,
says President Trump. Now, when we come up to midterms
and other things, don't forget what they've done to our country.
All the Democrats false, says Trump. All the Republicans false,
say the Democrats. Right. So Epstein, the vote versus the

(01:48):
papers versus the release versus the politics. Where's it all go? Well,
what's going on? Here's Trump about to face the Republican
rebellion over this. The Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has been
forced to schedule a House vote and next week over
the release of the full Epstein files. While the Trump
team has been going to extreme lengths you'd have to
say to try to stop the release. What happened here

(02:09):
on that point is unheard of. All the Dems back
the release of the Epstein files. They need just four
Republicans to side with them on that. One of those four,
Lauren Bobert, was brought into the White House situation room
last night, where the FBI boss Cash Pttel and Attorney
General Pam Bondi tried to pressure her to support the
cover up. She refused. Also, the Speaker had kept the

(02:30):
House members out of Washington for fifty four days. Amid
claims that he was trying to tamp down the Epstein
fura by refusing to swear in a new Democratic House
member from Arizona, Adelita Grialva. She was finally sworn in
and immediately signed the Epstein petition, slamming that delay by
the Speaker.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
This is an abuse of power. One individual should not
be able to unilaterally obstruct the swearing in of a
duly elected member of Congress or political reason.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Well. Democrat Robert Garcia, who was leading the push for
of the Epstein files to come out, says, the victims
must get their day.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
And want justice for them. I mean, I'm angry that
they continue to hide what happened. I'm angry that so
many powerful men have been protected.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
You know, just one percent of the Epstein material has
been made public so far. There is so much more
that the Justice Department is sitting on. A few emails,
of course, just came out, as we've been hearing brought
to lighte from the Epstein estate, and they allured. One
is from twenty eighteen, where Epstein wrote to journalist Michael
Wolf quote, you see, I know how dirty Donald is.
In another, Epstein rights to a former PM of Norway

(03:40):
that Russia's Putin could seek his Epstein's quote insights on Trump.
In yet another, Epstein rights to his cohort, Julaine Maxwell
or Trump quote, of course he knew about the girls,
as he asked Julaine to stop. So this suggests Trump
knew more about Epstein's criminal activities than he's publicly acknowledged.
At the White House, Trump presade, Carolyn Levitt says, what.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
President Trump has always said is that he was from
Palm Beach, and so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was
a member at mari A Lago until President Trump kicked
him out because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he
was a creep.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Well, that is not what Trump has been saying or
what others have said. Trump was, who was said to
be Epstein's best friend for about fifteen years, said they
split when Epstein hired away girls from Mara Lago, including
Virginia Guffrey, who is the one who committed suicide and
claimed in her recent memoir to have had several sexual
encounters with the former Prince Andrew. Others say they split

(04:33):
came over a property deal where Trump used information to
undercut Epstein financially. So Epstein v in the House next week,
then the Senate. Will they continue to make Trump or
are they looking now to their own political future? Just
not going away. Have a good week in Richard Donald State.
So for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live
to news Talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or

(04:54):
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