Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, told Newsmax that she agrees with Americans who are frustrated over the federal government shutdown and simply want it reopened.
Van Duyne told "Saturday Agenda" that, "Of course it's frustrating."
"And I agree with that 100%, which is why we did what we were supposed to do in the House," Van Duyne said.
"We sent what we thought was a compromise to begin with. These are levels of spend that [Democrats] already supported in the past," she added.
Van Duyne said Republicans initially wanted to include additional text and a range of party policies to secure votes.
"We wanted to put a bunch of riders on there. We wanted to have a lot of Republican policies that we added to it in order to get our vote. But we recognized that wasn't fair," she said.
She added, "We agreed to that. We passed it. And now we feel like it's being spit back in our face."
Van Duyne expressed frustration with media coverage of the issue.
"And yeah, it is frustrating that the media cannot seem to get over themselves and get it right. Why they continue to fight that it's somehow Republicans who have voted against it 14 times. That's not what's happened," she said.
"Republicans have voted to keep the government open. We have explained exactly why," she said.
She described efforts by the administration to mitigate shutdown impacts.
"Under this administration, I think you have seen a president who has not wanted the American public to feel the pains of a government shutdown, has gone to extraordinary measures to have that happen," Van Duyne said.
She contrasted Republican and Democratic approaches to spending and priorities.
"Democrats, happy with keeping the government shut down, happy with asking for another $1.5 trillion worth of spend to foreign countries and to illegal immigrants," she said.
"And then you've got Republicans that are really trying to get, with our one big beautiful bill, trying to get the economy started back up, trying to get people more money in their pockets, looking at tariffs and trade deals to bring back more private investment into our country to be able to have more jobs, more opportunities," Van Duyne added.
"It's a striking contrast," she said, "and the media doesn't get it, but I really hope that the American people see it."
The legislative roadblock is in the Senate, where Democrats have balked at approving a clean resolution to reopen the government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Saturday he will keep the Senate in session until a resolution to the shutdown is approved.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com