Jan 6, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Trump says he "can relate" to furloughed federal workers during shutdown

Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump told reporters outside of the White House on Sunday that he "can relate" to furloughed federal workers, adding that he expects they "will make adjustments" while they do not receive paychecks during the ongoing government shutdown.

The big picture: Republican sources told Axios' Mike Allen that they believe the only thing that will make Trump cave on the shutdown and his border wall demands is the moment when the hardships of hundreds of thousands of furloughed government employees become a staple of local news coverage across Trump country. But Trump personally seems to believe that those workers will stand with him, telling reporters that "many of those people who won't be receiving a paycheck, many of those people agree with what I'm doing."

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