Texas Rep. Keith Self has drawn backlash from critics after calling for major cuts to government spending. During his appearance on Newsmax, Self accused left-wing-backed programs and agencies of contributing to what he described as widespread “fraud” inside the federal government. The clip was shared to his official X account, where many people in the comments accused Self and other Republicans of hypocrisy.
Speaking during the interview, the Republican congressman defended President Donald Trump’s budget cut proposal. Self argued that several federally funded initiatives should either be scaled back or removed entirely to reduce unnecessary spending. He said the federal government has allowed too many responsibilities to shift toward non-governmental organizations, which he claims has contributed to portions of the federal budget being “taken up by fraud.”
“We have got to deal with the fraud,” Self said during the segment. “These things all take money. They all are part of the government for years and years and years. We need to start following the president’s budget request to cut out a lot of this spending that is extraneous to what the federal government ought to be doing.”
Public Reaction to Keith Self’s Remarks
Many netizens reacting to the interview were not convinced by Self’s arguments and instead pointed fingers back at Republicans and Trump himself. One person wrote, “Right Keith. No more fraud and no more spending sprees on golden ballrooms,” referring to the White House multimillion-dollar ballroom project. Another said, “Give us a break with your conservative hypocrisy.” A third remarked, “Words. Words… Words! Your 3.5 years in Congress have been NOTHING BUT WORDS, Grandpa.”
A few people also argued that corruption and excessive spending are not limited to one political party. “Agreed, but the GOP is no better. Congress needs to be paid based on the average American wage, and not a dime more. Things would quickly start changing for the better!” one X user commented.
Someone else added, “While the MAGA GOP who has been too cowardly to uphold their oaths runs their mouths about a couple million in fraud that was ALREADY BEING PROSECUTED, BILLIONS & BILLIONS are going out the back door of the Oval Office. Look in your own back yard cowards!”
According to The Daily Signal, the Texas representative sent a letter in March to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole to request spending cuts for agencies and organizations including the EPA, the World Health Organization, and the National Endowment for Democracy.
