- Greene loudly reaffirms unwavering loyalty to Trump while publicly scolding fellow Republicans for inaction and gridlock.
- She breaks with GOP on short-term ACA subsidy extension, drawing bipartisan praise and angering party leadership.
- Greene’s confrontational tactics expose growing GOP fractures, balancing MAGA fealty with rebellious, attention-grabbing policy stances.
WASHINGTON—Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia firebrand who’s made a career out of channeling MAGA fury, found herself in a familiar spot Friday night: defending her undying loyalty to President Donald Trump while unloading on the very Republicans she once marched in lockstep with.
On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Greene didn’t hold back, turning her frustration with congressional gridlock—and specifically House Speaker Mike Johnson—into a full-throated rant that left little doubt about where her true allegiances lie.
“I’ve got a great relationship with the president, I’ve always supported him and gave him my support for free,” Greene told Maher when he prodded her about reports that Trump was irked by her recent party infighting.
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It was a line straight out of the MAGA playbook, delivered with the kind of emphatic repetition that suggested she knew the boss might be watching.
But from there, Greene pivoted hard, blaming her own party for failing to fix the messes left by Democrats—like Obamacare—and for dragging the government shutdown into its 31st day over expiring health care subsidies.
“Here’s why I’m angry: the Democrats have passed Obamacare, 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,” she said, her voice rising in that signature blend of outrage and exasperation.
She zeroed in on Johnson, whom she’s been feuding with for weeks, accusing him of offering zero policy ideas to address the crisis. “Mike Johnson, for a month now, cannot give me a single policy idea. And I’m angry about that,” Greene fumed.
Marjorie Joins Bipartisan Push for Transparency and Action
The shutdown, now grinding federal operations to a halt and threatening to spike health insurance premiums for millions, has become the flashpoint for Greene’s revolt.
At its core is a standoff over Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end; Democrats want them extended in exchange for funding the government, while Republicans balk, fearing it props up a system they loathe.
The Congressional Budget Office warns that without action, premiums could double for some, leaving 4 million Americans uninsured.
Greene, whose own adult children face those hikes, has broken ranks by backing a short-term extension—a move that’s drawn rare bipartisan nods, even as it earns her side-eye from Trumpworld.
This isn’t Greene’s first brush with party heresy lately, and it’s not going unnoticed. Back in September, she signed onto a discharge petition with just three other Republicans to force a vote on releasing more Jeffrey Epstein files, bucking the Trump administration’s reluctance and irking White House insiders.
“She has broken with the Trump administration in calling for files related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to be released,” the New York Times reported, noting how her push for transparency on the scandal has even won over some progressives.
Zaid Jilani, a left-leaning writer, penned an op-ed in the Washington Post saying Greene was “winning my respect” on the issue.
Trump, never one to tolerate freelancing, has taken notice. According to multiple GOP sources, he’s been phoning senior Republicans in recent months, perplexed and probing: “What’s going on with Marjorie?”
It’s a stark reminder of how the president prizes loyalty above all—something Greene, who once floated a “national divorce” between red and blue states after the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, seems determined to reaffirm at every turn.
MTG Calls Republican Men “Weak”
Her balancing act has roots in a string of public spats that have left fellow Republicans exasperated. In August, Greene hinted at a potential split from the GOP altogether, telling the Daily Mail she no longer relates to a party that’s “turned its back on America First and the workers and just regular Americans.”
She didn’t mince words about the “good ole boys” running the show, saying Republican women like herself and Rep. Elise Stefanik—who got “shafted” when Trump pulled her UN ambassador nomination to protect the House majority—are fed up with how men treat them in the party.
“I think there’s other women in our party that are really sick and tired of the way men treat Republican women,” she added. By October, Greene’s critiques had sharpened. She slammed GOP men in Congress as “weak” for refusing to nuke the Senate filibuster and end the shutdown, tweeting that Speaker Johnson told her “they can’t do it” despite the math favoring Republicans.
On health care, she doubled down, posting on X that she’s “going to go against everyone” to protect her constituents from premium spikes, even as she opposes subsidies for undocumented immigrants.
“No I’m not towing the party line on this, or playing loyalty games,” she wrote, insisting her stance aligns with Trump’s voter concerns on costs.
Democrats, sensing an opening, have piled on the praise—a surreal twist for a lawmaker once synonymous with QAnon whispers and “Jewish space lasers.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer quipped last week, “I think this is the first time I said this, but, on this issue, Representative Greene said it perfectly … Representative Greene is absolutely right.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock echoed the sentiment to The Independent: “You are going to hear me utter words I never thought I’d say: Marjorie Taylor Greene is right.”
Even the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a blunt release: “Marjorie Taylor Greene is right.”
Greene Calls for Increase in Bipartisan Efforts
Not everyone’s buying the redemption arc. Within the GOP, Greene’s antics are wearing thin. Sen. Ted Cruz dismissed her on CNBC’s Squawk Box, saying, “Don’t spend much time worrying about [what] Marjorie is saying.”
He painted her as flip-flopping toward “massive government spending and taxes” and “open borders,” a charge that ignores her hardline immigration record but underscores the party’s fatigue.
Politico reported that Republicans are “growing tired” of her shutdown attacks, with her distance from leadership—exacerbated by a failed bid to oust Johnson last year—making her a lone wolf in a slim House majority.
Greene’s not backing down. She’s urged Senate Republicans to “pick up your bat and ball and get in the game” on Obamacare alternatives and endorsed Trump’s call for the nuclear option to override the filibuster.
“The best solution [for the government shutdown] is for the Democrats and the Republicans in the Senate to stop playing games,” she told Maher. “The Democrats can vote and they can fund the government just like that, but the Republicans in the Senate, they can use the nuclear option… The American people are being used like a piñata in this situation and I think it’s completely wrong.”
Amid the chaos, Greene has sprinkled in Trump love notes to keep the peace. Earlier this month, she gushed on X about his $300 million White House ballroom renovation: “I fully trust and support President Trump’s expertise to build a stunning edition to the White House that every administration going forward will enjoy. And it cost the American people $0!!”
And when Trump pardoned her ally, ex-Rep. George Santos, she was effusive: “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”
What Happens Next?
Political scientists like Andra Gillespie at Emory University see Greene as a symptom of broader GOP fractures under Trump 2.0. “Marjorie Taylor Greene is a very complex person and she’s a complex politician,” Gillespie told The Guardian.
“Overall she is still very much a MAGA-identified Trump-supporting Republican… [But] what Marjorie Taylor Greene presents is a challenge to the narrative that Republicans are a monolith at this point.”
As the shutdown drags on and premium deadlines loom, Greene’s tightrope walk could either force real change or widen the MAGA rift.
For now, she’s betting her bombast will keep her in Trump’s good graces—while her party wonders if the bus she’s throwing them under has room for one more.
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