‘What’s Going on With Marjorie?’: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Rift With Her GOP Colleagues Grows Wider

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s criticism of the Republican Party does not seem like it will die down any time soon, with the Georgia congresswoman going on a string of press appearances to push back against her colleagues. On Monday, in her latest salvo, she said it was “unacceptable” that her party had no solution to fix the looming increase in health insurance premium costs. Since the House has been out of session for the last three weeks, many lawmakers have remained quiet back home in their districts. There have been relatively few town halls, a small number of interviews, and a focus on Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass a spending bill to reopen the government. Ms. Greene, though, is appearing everywhere from CNN to comedians’ podcasts to levy unvarnished criticism of her colleagues. On Monday, Speaker Mike Johnson — who has said there will be no deal on the health care tax credits that Democrats have been demanding — said at a press conference that the Republican Party does not currently have a coherent health care plan. He said that there are likely a hundred different proposals that could be considered, an assertion Ms. Greene calls “unacceptable.”“This is an unacceptable Republican position. Even Democrats are saying that Obamacare destroyed the health insurance industry and they voted for it!” she wrote in a post on X. “Republicans must have a plan that responsibly builds the off-ramp off of Obamacare. What is the Republican plan???”What caught many observers’ attention in recent days was her appearance on comedian Tim Dillon’s podcast to discuss politics and what she sees as the failings of the governing Republican majority. Mr. Dillon interviewed Vice President JD Vance ahead of last year’s election, and has been described as being a part of the so-called manosphere that moved young voters to the right in 2024. On his show, Ms. Greene said that her party is not delivering on its promise to bring down the cost of living, a major theme of the 2024 race. “Nothing happened to me. I’m saying the same thoughts and feelings that I’ve always had,” she said on the show. “But I’m not willing to wear the Republican jersey and I’m not willing to be a cheerleader.”“Prices have not come down at all. The job market is still extremely difficult. Wages have not gone up. Health insurance premiums are going to go up. Car insurance goes up every year. People’s homeowners insurance goes up. Rent is going up,” Ms. Greene said. “Young people have no hope of buying a home.”Also on Mr. Dillon’s show, Ms. Greene said that there has to be some change to the way that non-citizens are being arrested and deported from the country due to the impact indiscriminate mass deportations could have on the labor force. “We have to do something about labor, and that needs to be a smarter plan than just rounding up every single person and deporting them,” Ms. Greene, who owns a construction company, told Mr. Dillon. “If anybody’s mad at me for saying the truth, then I’m sorry.”Her first major criticism of her party on the health care and affordability issue came last week, when she called on Republicans to extend the Biden-era Affordable Care Act subsidies in order to avoid steep increases in costs. “Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” she wrote on X last Monday. During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” over the weekend, Mr. Johnson tried to tamp down the idea that there was any great schism between Ms. Greene and other members of the GOP. “I had a thoughtful conversation with my friend Marjorie Taylor Greene on the phone the other night … to inform her that there are many Republicans in Congress that have been working around the clock on this,” Mr. Johnson said Sunday. “You have to build consensus in a large, deliberative, public body like this.”The affordability issue isn’t the only issue on which Ms. Greene has diverged from her party. She is one of four Republicans currently signed on to Congressman Thomas Massie’s petition to force a vote to release the so-called Epstein files. She says she has no intention of taking her name off of the petition. Once the House returns and a new Democratic congresswoman from Arizona is sworn in, the petition is expected to reach the requisite number of signatures for the bill forcing the disclosure of the files to come to the floor, where it is expected to pass. President Trump has reportedly become aware of Ms. Greene defections, and is apparently concerned about a loyal foot soldier stepping out of line. According to NBC News, Mr. Trump has called at least two Republicans in Congress to ask: “What’s going on with Marjorie?”

‘What’s Going on With Marjorie?’: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Rift With Her GOP Colleagues Grows Wider

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