The problem is that when setting the process mode of node SelectionWheel in the game ui to When Paused, the game will no longer pause when transitioning. The game pauses properly again when this node is set back to Inherit.
Just to add, if I print the name and the paused value of get_tree() after setting paused to true, they equal Base and true. So it is telling me my root node is paused, but the game isn’t pausing
So I have a current workaround, which is replacing, get_tree().paused = true with get_tree().root.process_mode = PROCESS_MODE_DISABLED and get_tree().paused = false with get_tree().root.process_mode = Node.PROCESS_MODE_PAUSABLE.
I will leave this thread open for any discussion as to why my initial code isn’t working here. get_tree().paused = true still works perfectly fine while bringing up my selection wheel.