Fox chief political anchor Bret Baier downplays the ramifications of a government shutdown

Baier: “If you get a government shutdown, there's a lot of people in America that say, 'You know, it's okay, isn't it, for a couple days?'”

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From the December 19, 2024, edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier

BRET BAIER (ANCHOR): You know, Doug Heye, we talk about shutdowns a lot, we've been through these fiscal cliffs a lot. It always happens, it seems to happen right around the holidays, as we've jammed a lot of funding for the government into these final days so that they could have people vote in order to get on a plane to go home for their Christmas break. But, here we are. And if you get a government shutdown, there's a lot of people in America that say, "You know, it's okay, isn't it, for a couple days?"

DOUGLAS HEYE (GUEST): Well, for a couple days, maybe. For some of the reasons that Chad pointed out, but the government shutdown of 2013 lasted 16 days. That's a long time of people not getting certain checks, parks being closed.