U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disputed NBC “Meet The Press” anchor Kristen Welker’s suggestion Sunday that President Donald Trump is responsible for prolonging the ongoing government shutdown.

During the latest episode of the political talk show, Bessent rejected Welker’s assertion that the onus was on Trump to meet with Democratic lawmakers to end the shutdown.

“When will President Trump meet with Democrats to try to bring this shutdown to a close and get federal workers their paychecks back again, Mr. Secretary?” Welker asked.

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Bessent replied, “Well, Kristen, I’m going to have to reject the premise of your question. Why does President Trump have to meet with Democrats? Democrats just need to go into the Senate and vote to end the shutdown.”

The government shutdown entered its 27th day Monday as lawmakers have yet to agree on spending legislation to begin the new fiscal year.

Republicans advanced a short-term spending bill that would have bought more time for lawmakers to finalize funding for 2026. But Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have shot down that measure repeatedly, demanding that Congress first address expiring COVID-era insurance subsidies.  

Democrats continue to demand that any funding bill include an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. But conservative groups are pushing back hard, arguing that those subsidies fuel higher health care premiums.

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While Democratic leaders have blamed Trump for the shutdown, Republicans have pointed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying he’s avoiding a deal because of pressure from progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has considerable sway over the Democratic Party. 

“They are worried about the Marxist flank in the Democrat Party. The Marxists are about to elect a mayor in New York City. That’s Chuck Schumer’s state, and he’s terrified that he’s going to get a challenge from his far left,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on Oct. 8.

In the “Meet The Press” interview, Welker insisted Trump could act to end the shutdown.

“But President Trump has said in the past it’s up to the president. He’s the president. He said that in the past. He said, ‘You have to be a leader. The president has to lead. You have to get people into a room. You have to get a deal.’ When’s he going to do that?”

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Bessent pushed back, blaming Schumer for the prolonged shutdown, suggesting he’s beholden to Ocasio-Cortez’s whims because of her power in the party.

He said, “Well, he is leading, and there’s no deal to do with Chuck Schumer. Chuck Schumer is trading off his polls. What’s different than when he passed a clean CR in the spring? It’s his polls. The whole country is being held captive to AOC’s polls.”

“But let’s look at the numbers,” Bessent continued. “It’s 52 to 3. Fifty-two Republicans have voted, I believe, it’s 11 times to reopen the government. Three Democrats have. And right here, right now, I would urge moderate Democratic senators to come across the aisle, reopen the government, because, I’ll tell you, we’re starting to eat muscle here. This is starting to affect travel and it’s starting to affect the economy.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Leo Briceno contributed to this report.