Wilbur Ross, the billionaire commerce secretary, expressed bafflement at why the sidelined workers did not simply borrow from a bank since they would eventually get back pay once the crisis was over.[34] Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to the president, said the workers were basically getting a free vacation.[35] Trump himself insisted that workers had told him they were happy to forgo paychecks so that he could promote border security.[36]
