House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington responded to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s report on gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2025, attributing slowed economic growth to the recent government shutdown.
Arrington stated, "The verdict is in: Democrats’ failed six-week government shutdown, the longest in history—during which they demanded health care for illegals and the extension of a fraud-ridden, COVID-era subsidy—hurt not only our vulnerable Americans with loss of services and threatened our troops’ paychecks, but it affected every American by slowing economic growth by 1.5 percent, or more than $28 billion in the fourth quarter, according to the CBO."
He continued by highlighting some positive trends. "Even so, key economic metrics hold strong. The private sector grew at a steady pace. Core GDP, a better measure of growth, grew at a 2.4 percent rate, showing the underlying economy is healthier than the topline number suggests. Furthermore, consumer spending remained solid in 2025 while business investment surged. Without the Democrats’ shutdown, growth would have been much higher and on track to meet—even exceed—the 2.6 percent growth target in the One Big Beautiful Bill."
Arrington also criticized what he described as political brinkmanship: "Democrats’ political brinkmanship adversely impacted economic growth, which in turn stifles wages and job creation. Senate Minority Leader Schumer famously said that Democrats were winning the shutdown, but the data proves with certainty every American lost as a result of the Democrat shutdown."
The House Budget Committee is part of the U.S. House of Representatives and includes members from other important committees such as Ways and Means and Appropriations (https://budget.house.gov/). The committee plays a central role in overseeing federal spending and developing budget resolutions aimed at promoting fiscal responsibility (https://budget.house.gov/). Under Arrington's leadership as chairman (https://budget.house.gov/), it has used tools like reconciliation to influence budget management (https://budget.house.gov/) and works closely with agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office for independent analysis (https://budget.house.gov/). Each year, it prepares budget resolutions that set guidelines for federal spending targets (https://budget.house.gov/).
