Marjorie Taylor Greene confronts Mike Johnson over GOP shutdown plan

House Republicans held a lawmakers-only conference call Tuesday that grew tense when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., confronted Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over his strategy for handling the ongoing government shutdown.

Johnson held weekly calls to keep Republican lawmakers informed of the shutdown, while asking them to stay in their home districts rather than Washington.

It’s part of Johnson’s pressure strategy to force Senate Democrats to accept the GOP’s federal funding plan.

However, Fox News Digital has learned that Greene forcefully retorted that the Republican majority in the House was being “wasted” by staying in their districts.

BATTLEFIELD REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSES DEMS FOR STOP

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Speaker Mike Johnson had a brief but tense confrontation during a GOP call on the House floor. (Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

She said House Republicans would be better served by passing legislation in Washington and finding a “way out” of the COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year if a deal is not reached.

An expansion of these grants has been Democrats’ main demand in exchange for agreeing to any funding deal.

“You need to leave Washington, D.C., go back to your districts and talk to real people, because real people are pissed,” Greene told House Republican leaders, Fox News Digital has learned. “They expect us to fulfill our legislative constitutional duty and not take orders from the White House policy team.”

She also turned her ire on President Donald Trump, noting that she was one of his earliest staunch supporters but adding, “Even the president is losing support.”

Fox News Digital has learned that Johnson defended Republicans’ legislative record thus far as well as Trump’s popularity among the Republican base.

He also said he and other Republican leaders worked tirelessly to end the shutdown, Fox News Digital has learned.

“He doesn’t sleep. I don’t sleep … because we work 24 hours a day,” Johnson said.

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, October 22, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)

Johnson then went further and criticized Greene for expressing concerns about the GOP leadership on social media, asking her, “How does that help us, Marjorie?”

Several other House Republicans who spoke defended Johnson’s handling of the shutdown, Fox News Digital reported.

Two notable exceptions were Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who, according to Fox News Digital, had also expressed concerns about keeping the House apart.

The president has kept the House away from Washington since Sept. 19, when his chamber passed the Republican Party’s short-term funding bill, giving lawmakers until Nov. 21 to reach an agreement on government funding.

Screaming match breaks out between HAKEEM JEFFRIES and MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

But Senate Democrats have since rejected the legislation 13 times.

Johnson argued on the call that Republicans are still busy at work despite not being in Washington, Fox News Digital has learned.

And although Tuesday’s confrontation marks the first time Greene has voiced her concerns during the House GOP’s weekly shutdown calls, she has expressed her frustration on social media.

The government is paralyzed after Congress fails to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)

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Greene even confirmed her version of the account on X while the call was underway.

“I said I had no respect that the House was not in session to pass our bills and the President’s executive orders. And I asked President Johnson to find out what the Republican health care plan was to build the Obamacare exit path and the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits to make health insurance affordable for Americans,” Greene wrote.

“Johnson said he had ideas and pages of policy ideas and jurisdictional committees were working on them, but he refused to give a policy proposal to our GOP conference on our own conference call. Apparently I have to go to a (classified setting) to find out about the Republican health plan!!!”

Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office and the White House for a response, but did not immediately receive a response.