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Rep. Keith Self appeared on Newsmax’s Wake Up America this week and criticized Senate Democrats for blocking what Republicans described as a short-term continuing resolution meant to keep federal operations funded. Self urged lawmakers to find common ground to guarantee payments for service members and to prevent disruptions to social programs that many Americans rely on.
The remarks came as the federal government entered a funding lapse on October 1, 2025, after Congress failed to pass appropriation legislation before the new fiscal year began. The impasse has led to large-scale furloughs and service interruptions across multiple agencies, and officials on both sides have traded blame for the stalemate.
Republican leaders in the House have accused Senate Democrats of insisting on policy riders—most notably extensions of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits—rather than simply agreeing to a short-term fix to reopen government. Democrats counter that the subsidies affect millions of Americans and must be addressed, which has produced repeated failed votes in the Senate and kept funding stalled.
With military families watching closely, the White House and Pentagon moved to ensure service members would be paid despite the shutdown, a step that shifted the political battleground to whether Congress or the executive branch should resolve pay and urgent priorities. That action underscored the human stakes lawmakers cite when debating whether to cut a deal or hold firm on policy demands.
On the Newsmax segment, Self framed the fight as a straightforward question of funding core responsibilities and urged bipartisan cooperation to fund defense and select social programs until a fuller budget agreement can be reached. He called on colleagues in both chambers to prioritize stability for military families and for citizens who depend on essential services while negotiations continue.
As the stalemate stretches on, pressure is mounting from state leaders, federal workers, and voters who want lawmakers to reopen government and restore certainty. Whether Congress will break the logjam hinges on whether either party will accept a temporary compromise to protect the basics while bargaining over longer-term policy differences.
