It appears the infighting in the Republican party isn’t going away anytime soon, as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was a Democrat as she continues to try and oust him from his position.
Greene shared her thoughts while speaking with CNN on Wednesday, criticizing Johnson over his role in the recent $1.2 trillion bipartisan funding bill that averted a government shutdown and efforts to remove him from his Speaker role.
Much like bipartisan measures struck by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the bill relied heavily on Democratic votes for passage, as many GOP representatives voted “no.”
Greene says this was because many of the party’s demands were not included in the legislation, nor were they given enough time to read it in full before voting.
The Georgia Rep. says she thinks Republicans around the country support her in her efforts to remove Johnson, saying voters are “furious that our so-called Christian conservative, Republican Speaker of the House did this to them.”
“People are fed up with Republicans that say one thing and turn around and literally join the flock and just continue the same old crap everybody’s tired of,” Greene said, comparing the Speaker to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Greene went as far as to say that Johnson has “literally turned into Mitch McConnell’s twin and worse. He’s a Democrat.”
Johnson was selected after numerous rounds of voting and fighting between Republicans who ousted their last Speaker late last year. Now, with several Republican Reps. resigning, the GOP lead in the House is down to a single seat, adding fear to what would happen if Johnson was removed.
However, Greene doesn’t appear worried, saying that Johnson is a Democrat already and that “There’s not even any daylight between him and Nancy Pelosi at this point.”
“We cannot get anyone more moderate than Mike Johnson,” Greene said. “I would argue Mike Johnson, we can’t get any further left than Mike Johnson. I think the Democrats might be happier with him than they are with Hakeem Jeffries.”
Over the weekend, Johnson addressed the attacks from Greene while speaking with Fox News, saying compromises had to be made and that there was no other option.
“These are not the perfect pieces of legislation that you and I and Marjorie would draft if we had the ability to do it differently,” Johnson said. “But with the smallest margin in U.S. history, we’re sometimes going to get legislation that we don’t like.”