Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) signaled exasperation with firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after being asked about her latest critique in a press conference Friday.
“I try not to react to what Marjorie Taylor Greene says every day,” Johnson said.
Greene, in an interview Thursday with Axios, accused Johnson of “hypocrisy” for how he brushed off questions about a judge granting Rep. Cory Mills’s (R-Fla.) ex-girlfriend a restraining order against him this week. Johnson said it might be a matter for the House Ethics Committee, before asking reporters to “talk about the things that are really serious.”
Greene compared the situation to former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) being expelled from Congress amid accusations of fraud and identity theft while Johnson was Speaker.
“They expelled George Santos, Mike Johnson did. He was Speaker and oversaw George Santos being expelled. Why isn’t he doing anything about Cory Mills?” Greene told Axios. “There’s clearly proof behind her accusations that a judge is issuing a restraining order. So I would say to Speaker Johnson, this is a serious matter, and it needs to be taken seriously.”
Johnson went on to say Greene’s assertion that he ousted Santos is “the exact opposite of history.”
“I opposed his expulsion from Congress. I voted against it. I advocated to my colleagues not to do that,” Johnson said.
Johnson recalled: “I talked to George Santos about redemption and about God’s mercy and grace. So look, I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
The Speaker then turned to the matter of Mills, saying he would “let the legal process play out” while praising the Florida Republican.
“He’s been a very hardworking member of Congress. He digs in deep on his areas of expertise and all of that. And, you know, he has served his constituents faithfully, so far as I’ve seen,” Johnson said.
“With regard to what’s going on in his personal life. I don’t know,” Johnson added. “I know people want me to throw colleagues under the bus. I don’t do that.”
Greene’s comments about Mills and Santos are the latest in an onslaught of criticism she’s lobbed at Republican leaders in recent weeks amid the government shutdown — frustrating and puzzling her GOP colleagues.
She has called on Johnson to bring the House back into session and called on Republican senators to use the “nuclear option” and bypass the Senate filibuster to reopen the government without help from Democrats. And she has accused the GOP of not having a plan to address rising health care premiums, as Democrats argue for an extension of expiring enhanced ObamaCare subsidies.
Greene told The Hill in an interview last week that it is “ridiculous” to suggest her positions have put her on an island in the GOP.
“I’m actually representing what a lot of Americans fully support,” she said.
