United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent posted a misleading statement on the U.S. Treasury’s website, an official website of the United States government, in the wake of President Donald Trump and Congress failing to reach a deal.

It reads: “The radical left has chosen to shut down the United States government in the name of reckless spending and obstructionism. As a result, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s websites will only be sporadically updated until this shutdown concludes. Please refer to Treasury’s contingency plans for more information.”

According to the Associated Press: “The federal government was thrown into a shutdown Wednesday with no easy endgame in sight, as Democrats held firm to their demands to salvage health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have dismissed as something to possibly discuss later.

“In response, the White House threatened mass layoffs of federal workers, rather than simply the normal furloughs, in a matter of days, seizing the chance to slash government. Blame was being cast on all sides. No new talks were scheduled after the president failed this week to secure a deal with congressional leaders.”

Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson released the following statement:

“President Trump controls the White House and both chambers of Congress. It’s clear where the responsibility lies to keep the government running. The president should stop playing games with services the people of Washington pay for and rely on, as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of government workers.

“Washington is home to nearly 80,000 federal workers. Many of those workers will be furloughed, temporarily laid off, or forced to work without pay through a shutdown. Our Employment Security Department is prepared to help federal workers find resources they need to get through the shutdown.”