"I've seen numbers that are starting to hurt the economy, maybe up to $15 billion a day," Bessent told CNBC when asked whether the shutdown was hurting the economy.
The new US fiscal year began on October 1, but Congress failed to approve a budget, leaving the government unable to function.
A government shutdown in the United States involves the cessation of operations by some government agencies funded directly by Congress due to the lack of a budget for the next fiscal year.
Trump previously announced that he could use the government shutdown to make massive staff and pay cuts.
He claimed that the Democrats' position created the budget impasse, and the White House is exploiting the current situation to eliminate programs that Republicans dislike.