WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., ripped into the shutdown strategy of her fellow Republicans and White House staff during a heated conference call on Tuesday.
Her chief complaint, which she has also aired publicly, is that Republicans are not doing anything to address the looming health care cliff, she confirmed on X after the call. Some funding for insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act expires at the end of this year, and many Americans could see their monthly premium costs double or even triple.
The issue has increased urgency because open enrollment begins on Saturday, Nov. 1, and there are concerns that people may drop their coverage for 2026 if they see a spike in prices.
On Tuesday, Greene accused her party of letting the country down, according to a Republican source who was on the conference call. Greene later confirmed the comments herself, even adding more detail, in the latest sign of a rift between her and her party.
Greene has long been one of President Donald Trump's most vocal backers, but in recent weeks, she's bucked her party on a number of high-profile issues, including the administration’s strikes on Iran, the conflict in Gaza and its handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Not long after Tuesday's call ended, the Georgia Republican began posting on X and confirming reports that she had reamed out her party leadership and expressed frustration with the White House's political team.
"I said I have no respect for the House not being in session passing our bills and the President’s executive orders. And I demanded to know from Speaker Johnson what the Republican plan for healthcare is," she wrote.
Greene also argued that Republicans' shutdown strategy has angered the American people and hurt Trump’s popularity, according to the source on the call.
She advocated for the Senate to get rid of the filibuster and for the House to come back into the session, this person said, although she also simultaneously argued Republicans need to get outside of Washington to listen to the anger of real Americans. The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., keeping members out of town to put pressure on Senate Democrats to end the shutdown.
Johnson, who was leading the call, pushed back on Greene. He argued that Republicans are working day and night on a health care solution and that conversations on the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies are ongoing, according to the source on the call.
Greene confirmed as much on X, but said she was unsatisfied with his answer.
"Johnson said he’s got ideas and pages of policy ideas and committees of jurisdiction are working on it, but he refused to give one policy proposal to our GOP conference on our own conference call. Apparently I have to go into a SCIF to find out the Republican healthcare plan!!!" she wrote, referring to secure areas for reviewing classified material.
We’d like to hear from you about how you’re experiencing the government shutdown, whether you’re a federal employee who can’t work right now, a person who relies on federal benefits like SNAP, or someone who is feeling the effects of other shuttered services in your everyday life. Please contact us at [email protected] or reach out to us here.
Johnson also pushed back on Greene's call for the Senate to nuke the legislative filibuster, according to a second source on the call. Most legislation requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, but Greene and others have suggested doing away with that rule to allow Republicans to reopen the government themselves. Proponents of keeping the filibuster in place worry that nuking it could come back to bite Republicans the next time Democrats take control of the Senate.
Johnson's office declined to comment.
