By Paul Kiernan 

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration's top economist said Wednesday that the U.S. economy may not grow at all in the first quarter if the partial government shutdown continues.

Noting that the first quarter of the year has tended to see weak economic growth, Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview on CNN that first-quarter growth this year could be "very close to zero."

"It is true that if we get a typically weak first quarter and then have an extended shutdown, that we could end up with a number that's very, very low," Mr. Hassett said. He added that when the government reopens, the economy should promptly recover any lost ground.

(More to come)

Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2019 10:22 ET (15:22 GMT)