President Donald Trump snapped back Wednesday after a reporter asked if the FBI was getting paid during the ongoing government shutdown, saying, "We got the people that we want paid!"
Trump was speaking during a news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump has blamed Democrats for the shutdown and threatened to eliminate what he calls "Democratic programs," saying that "Republican programs" would not be cut.
"Democrats and Republicans remain starkly at odds over how to reopen the government," The New York Times reports. "But unlike previous presidents, Mr. Trump has been unwilling to mediate a truce. He has opted instead to stretch the limits of his power to cushion the blow for agencies and constituencies he supports, while embarking on a retribution campaign against his political foes."
He apparently promises to release a list on Friday of "Democratic programs" he expects to cut if the government remains closed and said some of these programs would “never going to open up again,” The Times reports.