Mike Johnson, Marjorie Taylor Greene Clash in Heated GOP Call Over Shutdown Strategy

A closed-door House GOP conference call turned contentious Tuesday when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene pressed Speaker Mike Johnson over his shutdown playbook, arguing Republicans are wasting their majority by staying in their districts instead of legislating in Washington.

Johnson has kept the chamber out of session as part of a pressure campaign to force Senate Democrats to accept the House’s funding plan. He says the strategy is deliberate, and that rank-and-file Republicans are working nonstop from home districts to build public pressure. “He’s not sleeping. I’m not sleeping,” Johnson told colleagues, according to people on the call.

Greene exploded at that approach, telling leaders they’re shirking their constitutional duty by not passing bills on the floor. She demanded Republicans return to Washington to pass legislation and find an “off ramp” to the Obamacare pandemic-era subsidies Democrats insist on keeping. “Real people are pissed,” Greene said, urging members to meet voters face to face rather than take marching orders from White House political operatives.

The speaker pushed back and reproached Greene for going public with her grievances, asking how airing the dispute helps the conference. Several members defended Johnson’s handling of the shutdown during the call, but notable dissent came from Reps. Kevin Kiley and Dan Crenshaw, who raised similar concerns about keeping the House out while the standoff grinds on.

Greene doubled down on X during the call, saying she has “no respect for the House not being in session passing our bills and the President’s executive orders.” She demanded specifics on a Republican health-care plan to replace expiring premium tax credits, blasting Johnson for promising ideas but refusing to present a concrete policy on the conference call.

Johnson insists committees are doing the heavy lifting and that leadership is coordinating a comprehensive plan, but his refusal to bring the chamber back has frustrated insurgent conservatives who want immediate floor action and legislative wins to show voters before the midterms.

The feud highlights a deeper strategic split in the GOP: aggressive use of messaging from the districts versus a centralized pressure campaign aimed at forcing Democrats in the Senate to break. With the shutdown dragging into its next phase, the fight over tactics shows the party wrestling with how best to convert its majority into results.