if they cannot, the president has threatened to use executive action to fund his border wall. that historic shutdown cost the u.s. economy at least $6 billion according to a new report bystander ab by standard and poor s global ratings. so was the shutdown worth it and where do things go from here? lawmakers on both sides weighing in this morning. shutdowns are never good policy, ever. they are never to be used as a means to achieve any kind of goal, no matter how important that goal may seem to be. we cannot have the threat of a government shutdown hanging over our people and our economy. we all know that these workers were held hostage by the president. we all know it s a strategy the american people abhorred, and that s why the president had to cave, but we also want to make sure it never happens again,