HASSETT: LAYOFFS IN U.S. WILL START IF SHUTDOWN TALKS ‘GOING NOWHERE’

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration will start mass layoffs of federal workers if President Donald Trump decides negotiations with congressional Democrats to end a partial government shutdown are "absolutely going nowhere", White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said.

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As the shutdown entered its fifth day, Hassett told CNN's "State of the Union" programme that he still saw a chance that Democrats would back down, averting a costly shutdown and federa