Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday addressed her beef with the Republican Party on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” maintaining throughout that she remains loyal to President Donald Trump — but is frustrated with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
Greene has publicly criticized her party’s handling of the ongoing government shutdown, as health insurance premiums for the Affordable Care Act are soon set to double. She has also slammed Johnson on social media for failing to suggest a single policy to mitigate the impact.
“A lot of the things I say are against my own party, but they’re mainly my frustrations in Congress,” Greene told Maher. “I believe that Congress should be solving a lot of these problems. However, Congress is not solving these problems.”
“You know, looking at Obamacare, it was passed in 2010, it went into place in 2014 and premiums have skyrocketed ever since,” she continued. “It was good for some that couldn’t afford health insurance or get health insurance.”
Greene then said the Affordable Care Act has “crushed” the middle class. When asked to clarify, Greene shared an anecdotal example about her family’s monthly $800 health insurance policy increasing to more than $2,400 per month.
“And that’s what so many people have experienced over all these years, but here’s the big problem,” she said. “Here’s why I’m angry: The Democrats passed Obamacare, but yet the Republicans have never done anything to correct the problems that exist with it.
“And I blame my own party, that’s absolutely wrong,” Greene continued. “And I don’t think it’s an easy thing to fix, however, it’s something that we should have a plan for. And Mike Johnson, for a month now, cannot give me a single policy idea — and I’m angry about that.”
Greene has broken with her party on numerous issues before, however, including U.S. aid to Israel amid accusations of war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Trump administration’s failure of transparency regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Trump has well-documented ties with the late sex offender, who died behind bars while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019. His administration initially vowed to reveal his rumored clientele, only for Trump to pivot and call the case a “hoax.”
Mike Stewart/Associated Press
Greene has maintained her loyalty to the president, writing on social media last week that she “fully” trusts and supports Trump’s “expertise” in building a $300 million White House ballroom. She also praised Trump for pardoning former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.).
Santos pleaded guilty in 2024 to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, admitting he deceived donors and stole the identities of 11 people. He was sentenced in April to seven years in federal prison, a sentence that Trump commuted last month.
Greene also reiterated her support Friday for Senate Republicans to use the “nuclear option” in ending the shutdown by overriding the filibuster rule and passing a funding bill. Trump urged them to do so on Thursday, calling it the “TRUMP CARD” on social media.
“I’ve got a great relationship with the president,” Greene told Maher on Friday. “I’ve always supported him and gave him my support for free.”