U.S. President Donald Trump says government shutdown may mean Democrat-supported federal programs are “never coming back.”

The president says his administration is using the government shutdown to target federal programs that Democrats like and “they’re never going to come back, in many cases.”

"We are closing up Democrat programs that we disagree with and they're never going to open again," he said.

Trump added: “We're being able to do things that we were unable to do before” during the shutdown, which he blames on Democrats.

Democrats blame Republicans who control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

Trump said officials will present a list of targeted programs on Friday.

He didn’t provide further details except to say his administration is seeking to terminate “some of the most egregious socialist – semi-communist” programs.