by James Franey at New York Post
Bickering lawmakers in Washington, DC, raked in over $20,000 each at the expense of American taxpayers during the longest US government shutdown in history, according to official data reviewed by The Post.
President Donald Trump ended the record 43-day closure with the stroke of a pen on Wednesday night after a handful of moderate Dems finally joined Republicans to end the standoff that the White House estimates cost the economy a whopping $15 billion per week.
Members of Congress grabbed a total of more than $10 million during the shutdown that saw food stamp aid slashed, travel chaos unleashed across the US, and more than 1 million federal workers go without pay.
Kevin Hassett, one of Trump’s top economic advisers and a candidate to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, said Thursday that 60,000 private sector jobs were lost as a result of the economic malaise from the shutdown.
Hard-left Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) had pushed for the standoff to continue. She lashed out at the seven Democratic Senators and one Dem-leaning independent who worked with the GOP to reopen the government, claiming they failed to win enough concessions on healthcare funding.
The progressive firebrand said she…