Marjorie Taylor Greene Blames GOP Leaders for Shutdown: “I Don’t Have to Be a Cheerleader For My Party”

A new Washington Post poll revealed that 47 percent of Americans blame President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for the federal government shutdown. The same poll shows 30 percent blame Democrats in Congress and 23 percent are “not sure.”

U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, was asked on CNN if she agrees with most Americans, who think the shutdown is her party’s fault. The Congresswoman replied: “I don’t think the shutdown is popular for either side.”

Greene added: “I’m not putting the blame on the President, I’m actually putting the blame on the Speaker, and Leader Thune in the Senate. This should not be happening.”

Greene isn’t ready to align with the GOP’s intent to let the Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, ensuring a future where health care costs rise precipitously for many lower and middle income Americans.

Having broken with party orthodoxy on issues such as Gaza (she was the first congressional Republican to call the situation “genocide”) and the release of Epstein files (Greene is one of just four Republicans to sign a petition to vote on their full release), Greene said her constituents in Georgia, including her “neighbors, family and friends,” have been asking her to “do something about healthcare premiums.”

Explaining taking her own path and her finger-pointing at Thune and Johnson, the Congresswoman said: “I’m a representative, I don’t have to be a cheerleader for my party, I have to represent my district.”

On Monday, Greene excoriated GOP congressional leaders and wrote: “I’m carving my own lane. And I’m absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year…Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!”