Donald Trump’s commerce secretary has triggered anger among Democrats after saying he could not understand why unpaid federal workers, knocked by Washington’s government shutdown, were using food banks and suggested they tide themselves over with loans instead.

Wilbur Ross, a former financier who made his fortune on corporate turnrounds, said the estimated 800,000 federal employees not being paid should be able to go to credit unions and pay “a little bit of interest” to obtain bridging finance during the shutdown.

When asked on CNBC about reports of federal workers visiting homeless shelters to eat, Mr Ross said: “Well, I know they are and I don’t really quite understand why.” He added: “The idea that it’s pay cheque or zero is not a really valid idea. There’s no reason why some institution would not be willing to lend.”