Mike Johnson slams ‘absurd’ Marjorie Taylor Greene for criticizing him over GOP health care silence

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Speaker Mike Johnson took a jab at Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying she was being "absurd" when she accused him of refusing to share information on his health care policy proposal with House Republicans.

The congresswoman has been critical of Republicans for not providing an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, as Democrats continue to push for a meeting to discuss extending tax credits to make health care more affordable.

Mike Johnson slams Marjorie Taylor Greene over Republican health care dispute

During an appearance on Fox News on Sunday, November 2, with anchor Shannon Bream, the host told Mike Johnson, "The last time you were here, we talked about Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and she has real frustrations about this," referring to the Republican plan for health care, which is at the heart of the government shutdown.

She then referenced a social media post by Greene, in which she claimed, "Johnson said he’s got ideas and pages of policy ideas and committees of jurisdiction are working on it, but he refused to give one policy proposal to our GOP conference on our own conference call. Apparently I have to go into a SCIF to find out the Republican healthcare plan!!!"

Bream clarified that a SCIF is a secure area used to share intelligence without fear of leaks, adding about the post, "And there are a lot of exclamation points there."

Johnson replied, "Yeah, I don’t know what to say about that. I mean, that’s absurd. Obviously we won’t be on a conference call explaining all of our plans and strategies for health care reform because they are leaked in real time, literally, when I have a conference call with all my members, it’s tweeted out by journalists. They are supposed to be private but they’re not. And, so, Marjorie knows, and she knows she can come into my office any day, any hour, and I’ll lay out everything for her."

He continued, "Our ideas have been out there for a long time. We are formulating the final plan that will bring down premiums. There’s only one party in America that is going to do that. Remember, the Democrats are the ones who created the system that is failing us."

Johnson further stated, "They created Obamacare and said it would bring down costs. It has done exactly the opposite. Premiums are up 60 percent since Obamacare was created in 2010, so it’s the Republican Party that will bring down the cost, not the Democrats. They’ve already proven what they are about." 

MTG pressures GOP to reveal health care plan as shutdown drags on

On October 28, Marjorie Taylor Greene lashed out at Mike Johnson, accusing him of failing to lead and the GOP of lacking a specific plan on health care as the government shutdown continues.

She made the remarks after Jake Sherman from 'Punchbowl News' reported that during a private House Republican conference call, Greene complained that she was "tired of people listening to the White House political staff."

Greene urged Senate GOP leader John Thune to "use the nuclear option and reopen the government," referring to ending the filibuster to push through a funding bill. The congresswoman responded to Sherman’s post on social media and added that she had "no respect for the House not being in session passing our bills and the president’s executive orders."

Moreover, she said she demanded to know from Speaker Johnson what the Republican plan was to "build the off-ramp off Obamacare and the ACA tax credits" and make health insurance affordable.

According to Greene, Johnson told members that "committees of jurisdiction are working" on policy ideas but refused to share any concrete proposal with the GOP conference.