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MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene lit up her own party, tearing into Speaker Mike Johnson and daring Republicans to finally show their cards on health care as the government shutdown drags into its fourth week. In posts and calls with colleagues, Greene blasted leadership for floating “ideas” without a plan, warning that millions face punishing premium spikes if Congress lets enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies lapse at year’s end. “More of my Republican colleagues are finally talking about the unaffordable health insurance crisis,” Greene wrote, before accusing Johnson of coming to a GOP conference call with “pages of policy” but “not a single policy plan.” Then she upped the pressure with a dugout taunt aimed at her caucus: “Pick up your bat and ball and get in the game.” Greene has been unusually explicit about what she wants Republicans to say out loud, arguing that the party must “build the off ramp off of Obamacare in a responsible way,” push price transparency, and “incentivize the market” to drive down costs. The posts mark a rare moment where one of the House’s loudest Obamacare critics is also scolding her own side for having no replacement ready. Johnson, for his part, keeps insisting there is a plan somewhere. On C-SPAN, he said he had a “90-minute slideshow,” but he has not produced a detailed blueprint as the shutdown grinds on. He has maintained that Republicans will address health care after the government reopens, not before. That stance is colliding with the calendar as open enrollment begins and insurers lock rates. Outside the Capitol, the stakes are clearer by the day. State officials and insurers warn that extending the enhanced ACA tax credits at the last minute could be chaotic, even if Congress agrees, because systems and rates are already set. Consumers are bracing for sticker shock if the subsidies vanish in December, a scenario that could push healthier enrollees out of the market and drive premiums even higher. Public opinion is not on the GOP’s side. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans support extending the subsidies, including a majority of Republicans, according to recent polling. That is a flashing red light for a party that still attacks Obamacare, yet has struggled to agree on a replacement since the failed 2017 repeal effort. Greene is not going soft on Democrats, blaming them for “creating” the mess and “making it worse” in 2021 when the credits were expanded. But she is also hammering Republicans for “sitting on the sidelines” without a plan to prevent what she calls financial “ruin” for families staring down premium hikes. In a message that cuts through partisan talking points, she warns her colleagues that doing nothing is not an option. Meanwhile, a faction of House Republicans is trying to thread the needle, signaling openness to renewing the subsidies while rejecting Democrats’ demand to tie them to reopening the government. That split underscores why Greene’s public pressure campaign matters, because the window to act is narrowing fast. Greene’s endgame remains pure MAGA economics, not a pivot to Obamacare. But her break with leadership exposes the GOP’s long-running health care dilemma, a political loop where denunciations are easy and details never quite materialize. With the shutdown grinding on and open enrollment days away, her message to Johnson and the rest of the Republican leadership is simple enough to fit on a bumper sticker, show the plan or get out of the way.
