Goldman Sachs warned that the ongoing U.S. government shutdown is set to inflict the largest economic hit of any shutdown on record, both in scale and duration. The bank said the current halt in federal operations appears broader than the 35-day partial shutdown of 2018–19, impacting far more agencies and government functions. While a short disruption of two to three weeks would mostly reflect lost output from furloughed workers, Goldman said a longer shutdown could significantly weigh on federal spending, investment, and even private sector activity.Assuming the shutdown extends for about six weeks, Goldman estimates it will reduce U.S. GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 by 1.15 percentage points (q/q annualized), followed by a rebound of roughly 1.3 points in the first quarter of 2026 as delayed federal purchases and investment are realized. The bank concluded that while activity may recover in early 2026, the near-term drag could mark the sharpest quarter-on-quarter disruption caused by any U.S. government shutdown. ---Goldman’s projection underscores the rising economic risk from a prolonged U.S. government shutdown, with markets likely to price in near-term growth weakness before any first-quarter recovery.---Trump touts himself as a dealmaker but has so far been unable, more likely unwilling though, to do anything to end the the shut down. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.