That is the conclusion of an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released last week, which found that delayed federal spending over the five-week period came to $18 billion. The economic losses are estimated at $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $8 billion in the first quarter of 2019.
The economic costs are expected to be reversed as federal workers return to their jobs but not all of the losses are expected to be recovered. $3 billion is estimated to have been lost permanently, according to the CBO.
The longest shutdown in U.S. history started when President Trump demanded $5.7 billion from Congress to fund part of his controversial border wall. The impasse came to an end on Friday when the president signed a spending bill to fund the government through February 15. Notably, that bill contained no funding for the wall.