Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she was unsure if the Epstein files are why the House isn’t in session and called for Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva to be sworn in.
Greene has called for a definitive plan to replace the insurance premium tax credits not included in the Republican-backed government funding resolution.
Recommended Stories
- Wolf Blitzer praises ‘courageous’ Marjorie Taylor Greene after talking shutdown
- Rep. Menendez mocks GOP in 'trust fall library' video
- Mike Johnson first speaker to take C-SPAN calls in over 20 years
The House has been out of session and will be until the government is funded, leadership has signaled. There’s been speculation that this is because House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) doesn’t want to bring a discharge petition for the Jeffrey Epstein files to a vote.
Greene couldn’t verify whether the Epstein files are why the House isn’t in session in a CNN interview, but called for the chamber to go back into session anyway.
“I can’t conclusively say if that’s why the House isn’t in session, but the House should be in session and the House should be in session for many reasons,” she said. She noted that appropriations bills need to be passed.
She also said that Grijalva, who won election to her late father’s seat on Sept. 23, “does deserve to be sworn in.” Democrats have long clamored for the Arizona representative-elect to be sworn in swiftly, but Johnson has put it off.
Greene believes any attempt to delay the discharge petition is hopeless. “If it’s to avoid the discharge petition, why drag this out? That is going to have 218 signatures,” she said.
The Georgia congresswoman stirred up the political conversation earlier this week when she criticized Republican leadership for not offering a “plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!”
In the same CNN interview, she also claimed that “costs have not come down” despite the administration’s promises to improve the nation’s affordability.
“Our young adults are barely making it,” she wrote in an X post on her comments. “They’re buried by high costs and broken promises. As a mom, I’m fighting for my kids’ generation and every young American who’s losing hope in this country. We must save the American Dream!”
Democrats expressed surprise at her comments on social media.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene & I don’t agree on… anything. I don’t think we could agree on whether 1 & 1 is 2. But even she knows Republicans are about to DOUBLE folks’ health insurance costs because they won’t act,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) wrote on X.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris adviser and Democratic strategist Mike Nellis also agreed with Greene’s sentiments.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene just said on CNN that about 60% of the calls to her office are from people pissed at Republicans about health care premiums. Some of her constituents are already paying $2,000 a month and are worried those costs could double or triple. Strange times when I’m sharing something from MTG in a positive light,” he wrote on X.
It’s unclear when the government shutdown will end, with uncertainty over when the House will be back in session and Grijalva will be sworn in.
CROCKETT CITES RARE AGREEMENT WITH MTG IN ARGUMENT FOR OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
Republicans have suggested a one-year extension to the Obamacare subsidies for a compromise with Democrats, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called it a nonstarter.
Greene believes the Senate should resort to the nuclear option, which avoids the 60-vote filibuster threshold and reduces the vote amount needed for funding to pass to a simple majority.