Copyright newsweek
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene got a round of applause on Bill Maher’s TV show on Friday night after blaming House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican Party for failing to come up with solutions that would “fix” what she calls the “problems” within Obamacare. “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,” Greene, a longtime MAGA loyalist who has recently turned into a harsh critic of her own party, told Maher while appearing on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” an HBO show. Why It Matters For years, Greene was known to be a MAGA hardliner, one of Trump’s most loyal—and most controversial—supporters, and a provocateur, floating several conspiracy theories, including about Jewish space lasers. But recently, the Georgia congresswoman has shown an independent streak, dissenting with her party on a number of issues, including the Epstein files, health care, Israel-Hamas, ICE, and the government shutdown. Her shift got many analysts wondering what might be motivating her in bucking her own party, pursuing what could either turn into a career suicide or a new political platform for the two-time representative. What To Know The federal government shut down on October 1 after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate could not agree on a spending bill that would keep it funded. Since then, several votes to reopen the government have failed. At the center of the impasse between the two parties is health care: Democrats opposing cuts to government health agencies want Republicans to extend expiring tax credits making health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans and reverse President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid. Republicans, on the other hand, have refused to include these measures into the funding bill. The shutdown has now entered its second month and is the second-longest in U.S. history, after the one between December 22, 2018 and January 25, 2019, which lasted 35 days. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a press conference alongside alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on September 3, 2025, announcing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which calls for the release of all unclassified documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case. (BRYAN DOZIER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) The Georgia congresswoman has sided with Democrats in supporting a temporary expansion of the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies to help Americans pay for rising insurance premiums. Greene told Maher that she blames her own party for not coming forward with changes that would alter Obamacare. “I blame my own party, that’s absolutely wrong,” she said. “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.” Her statement was greeted with a roaring applause from the TV show’s audience. Journalist Michael Moynihan, who was also a guest of the show, followed up saying that he did not expect to do so, but he had to agree with Greene on that issue. His statement was followed by a second applause. What People Are Saying Greene told Maher on Friday night: “That has been a lot of my angst. A lot of the things I say are against my own party, but they are mainly my frustration in Congress. I believe that Congress should be solving a lot of these problems. However, Congress is not solving these problems. And I have Republican leadership.” Trump asked at least two senior Republicans, according to two GOP sources who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity: “What’s going on with Marjorie?” What Happens Next So far, Greene has not gone as far as criticizing Trump, who notoriously rewards loyalty and punishes his critics. On Friday, the Georgia congresswoman told Maher that she had “a great relationship with the president” and had long been his supporter, “for free.” Earlier this week, Trump called for Republicans in the Senate to use the “nuclear option” and get rid of the filibuster to end the government shutdown.
