The U.S. government shutdown is starting to impact the American economy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Monday.
Federal funding cut-offs have begun to hit the country's real economy and people's lives, the Treasury chief said during an interview with Fox Business Network as the shutdown entered the 13th day.
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to use all available funds to ensure U.S. military service members receive paychecks during the shutdown.
However, it means that the government now has to hold back on payments to other federal workers and services, according to Bessent.
He also reiterated that the shutdown was stalling U.S. aid for farmers.
U.S. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson warned on Monday that the federal government shutdown may become the longest in history.
Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said Democrats are ready to sit down and have a conversation with Republicans to find a bipartisan solution, but such discussions have not been taking place thus far.
The impact of the federal government shutdown continues to spread across the country. U.S. media reports showed that a shortage of air traffic controllers has been causing more flight delays. Nearly 8,000 flights were reportedly delayed and more than 270 canceled on Sunday alone across the country.
Government shutdown beginning to hit economy: Treasury Secretary
A super El Nino event officially formed in September 2026, monitoring data from China's National Climate Center showed on Friday.
Zhao Junhu, chief forecaster at the center, said that the equatorial central and eastern Pacific entered an El Nino state in May this year, with sea surface temperatures in the key monitoring region rising rapidly and continuously from May to September.
The three-month running mean of the sea surface temperature (SST) index in the monitoring region has remained above 0.5 degrees Celsius for five consecutive months. The index exceeded 2.5 degrees Celsius for the July-September period, meeting the threshold for a super El Nino event.
The event is classified as an eastern Pacific-type El Nino, in which the warmest sea surface temperatures are concentrated in the equatorial eastern Pacific.
Monitoring data showed that sea surface temperatures across most of the equatorial Pacific in September were above average of the same period, with temperatures in the warm pool of the eastern Pacific exceeding the climatological average by more than 3 degrees Celsius.
The SST index for the monitoring region reached 2.94 degrees Celsius in September, up 0.35 degrees Celsius from August. The average index for the July-September period stood at 2.54 degrees Celsius.
Based on a combination of domestic and international dynamical climate models and statistical forecasting methods, the center expects sea surface temperatures in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific to continue rising over the next three months, peaking in late autumn or early winter, Zhao said.
The event is expected to become the strongest El Nino on record since systematic monitoring began, he added.
Super El Nino event formed in September: China's National Climate Center
Super El Nino event formed in September: China's National Climate Center
