Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a vocal conservative and longtime ally of President Donald Trump, reportedly sharply criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday, accusing him of failing to lead his party through the ongoing government shutdown and of allowing Republicans to drift without a coherent plan.
In an interview with Axios, Greene expressed frustration that Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who rose to the speakership as a compromise choice among divided GOP factions, has “not had a single conference meeting” to discuss how Republicans intend to handle the budget impasse now stretching into its third week. “Mike Johnson has not had a single meeting about any sort of plan,” she said. “We’ve been out of town for the past month, and there’s still no direction.”
The Speaker, for his part, defended his decision to keep lawmakers in their districts, saying it was the “responsible decision” to allow members to “help their constituents” during the shutdown. But Greene dismissed that rationale, warning that the absence of a unified Republican strategy had left the party vulnerable. “What am I saying that can be criticized?” she asked. “I’m saying the cost of living is too high, health insurance premiums are destroying the middle class, and Republicans have no plan.”
Greene also raised concerns about the looming expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which she argued could leave many working-class Americans without healthcare coverage. “Mike Johnson has not had a single conference meeting about any sort of plan to deal with the ACA tax credits expiring,” she said, framing the issue as another example of GOP leadership’s failure to prepare for real-world consequences.
Her criticisms extended beyond Congress. In unusually blunt terms, Greene accused both her own party and the president of straying from the “America First” principles that once animated their movement. While she praised Trump for doing “a great job in a lot of places,” she said his second-term agenda appeared to be prioritizing foreign affairs at the expense of domestic issues. “It’s a revolving door at the White House of foreign leaders when Americans are, you know, screaming from their lungs,” she said.
Greene also mocked Trump’s unpredictable tariff policy, saying that farmers and manufacturers “don’t know if the tariff policy is going to change” because the president’s trade stance seemed to fluctuate “with each Truth Social post.”
The Georgia congresswoman’s remarks reflect growing unease among hardline conservatives who feel that both the administration and GOP leadership in Congress have failed to act decisively on core economic and populist promises. For Greene, the issue is not loyalty but principle.
“The cost of living is crushing families,” she said. “Americans are tired of words and waiting for plans.” Despite the backlash from within her own ranks, Greene insists she will continue to speak out. “It doesn’t faze me at all,” she said. “I’m standing on America First values, even when others won’t.”
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