Greene Accuses Johnson of Answering to “White House, Not Congress”
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has launched a scathing attack on House Speaker Mike Johnson, claiming he is acting under direct instruction from the White House and surrendering the constitutional authority of Congress.
In an interview with The New York Times, published as part of a profile released this week, Greene said Johnson was no longer leading the House independently.
“I want you to know that Johnson is not our Speaker. He is not our leader,” Greene said. “In the legislative branch, which is a totally separate body of government, he is literally 100 percent under direct orders from the White House. Many Republicans are furious about that, but they are cowards.”
The comments come as Greene prepares to resign from Congress on January 5, a decision she says was driven by her deteriorating relationship with Donald Trump and her refusal to subject her district to a bruising primary fight that she believes the president would have influenced.
Her remarks also reflect broader frustration among some House Republicans, who argue Congress has ceded too much power to the executive branch under Johnson’s leadership.
Mike Johnson
The White House pushed back strongly. Spokesman Davis Ingle said President Trump remained “the undisputed leader of the greatest and fastest growing political movement in American history, the MAGA movement.”
He added that Greene was “quitting on her constituents in the middle of her term” and accused her of abandoning a critical political fight, dismissing her criticism as personal bitterness.
Greene’s split with both Trump and Johnson has widened over the past year. She publicly condemned Johnson’s decision not to recall the House during a government shutdown, calling it an embarrassment. She also joined three other Republicans in backing a discharge petition to force a vote on a bipartisan bill requiring the Department of Justice to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Johnson initially dismissed the Epstein legislation as a Democratic tactic, while Trump described it as a hoax. The president later reversed course and urged Republicans to support the bill, which passed by an overwhelming margin, including with Johnson’s backing.
Greene has also criticised Johnson for failing to outline a Republican alternative to expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, an issue she raised again in late October.
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The feud between Greene and Trump has become increasingly bitter. Trump has withdrawn his endorsement of the Georgia lawmaker and publicly labelled her a traitor. In announcing her resignation, Greene said she anticipated a “hurtful and hateful primary” backed by the president if she sought re-election, adding that she refused to be treated like a “battered wife.”
Johnson has defended his record. In a weekend op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, he argued House Republicans had enjoyed a highly productive year, citing the passage of a GOP health care bill earlier this month, although that legislation did not address the expiring subsidies.
He also described 2025 as “one of the most productive first years of any Congress in our lifetimes,” pointing to 441 bills passed, votes to codify dozens of Trump’s America First executive orders, billions reclaimed through spending rescissions, and the repeal of 23 Biden-era regulations.
Greene remains unconvinced. In a social media post at the end of November, she accused Johnson of sidelining House Republicans who had entered 2025 with legislation aligned to the 2024 election mandate.
“Our best shot was the first six to nine months,” she wrote. “Now House members are shifting into campaign mode, our legislative majority has been mostly wasted. If Republicans lose the midterms, it will mean total political war and gridlock once again.”
As Greene exits Congress, her parting shots underline growing tensions within the Republican Party over leadership, loyalty to Trump, and the balance of power between Capitol Hill and the White House.
