Washington DC - US economic growth cooled much more than expected in the final months of 2025, government estimates showed Friday, capping the first year of Donald Trump's return to the presidency.

The Republican leader was quick to blame a lengthy government shutdown last year for the deceleration, pinning responsibility on Democratic lawmakers in a social media post before the latest data was released.

The world's biggest economy expanded at a 1.4% annual rate in the October to December period, the Department of Commerce said.

This was significantly below the 2.5% pace that analysts had forecasted for the quarter.

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Full-year GDP growth came in at 2.2% in 2025, lower than the 2.8% figure for the prior year.

"The Democrat Shutdown cost the U.S.A. at least two points in GDP," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, about a half-hour before the official results were published.

He also pointed the finger again at the Federal Reserve, bashing outgoing Chairman Jerome Powell and calling for "LOWER INTEREST RATES."

In an unusual move, Trump ushered reporters out from a working breakfast with governors after the GDP report was released.

Analysts generally expect any hit to economic growth from the record-long shutdown, which lasted from October to mid-November, to be temporary. But some warn of repercussions from prolonged stoppages.

"At first glance, the first reading of fourth quarter GDP was very disappointing," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. "However, the government was shut down for almost half the quarter," he added.

Some analysts estimate that if the shutdown hadn't occurred, fourth quarter GDP growth would have been closer to 2.4%, Zaccarelli said, but conceded this is hard to predict accurately.