Rumors are always swirling around Washington, D.C. But this one seems to be spicer than usual.
And a leading Republican made a claim about Speaker Johnson that has all of Congress talking.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) from Georgia has come out swinging against House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of being nothing more than a marionette dancing to the tune of the White House. This isn’t just idle chatter—it’s a direct challenge to the heart of conservative leadership in Congress.
The bad blood between Greene and former allies boils down to her relentless push for transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein investigations. That effort put her at odds with President Trump, who pulled his endorsement and branded her a “traitor” amid their heated public clash.
“I want you to know that Johnson is not our Speaker. He is not our leader,” Greene declared in a no-holds-barred interview with The New York Times.
“And in the legislative branch — a totally separate body of government — he is literally 100 percent under direct orders from the White House,” she added. “And many, many Republicans are so furious about that, but they’re cowards.”
Johnson’s team didn’t fire back directly but pointed to his earlier remarks from November, when asked for comment by Fox News Digital.
“I’m a jealous guardian of Article one of the Constitution. I mean, the legislative branch is the most important. And I’m in charge of that in the house, but I don’t think the president has overstepped his bounds. I think he’s used that, that tariff authority wisely. And it’s given him leverage in the strategy on these trade agreements. A lot of good has come out of that. I think the court should give deference to the Article two branch. And hopefully it continues,” Johnson stated on FOX Business.
From the Oval Office, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle slammed Greene’s exit when speaking to the New York Times.
“President Trump remains the undisputed leader of the greatest and fastest growing political movement in American history — the MAGA movement. On the other hand, Congresswoman Greene is quitting on her constituents in the middle of her term and abandoning the consequential fight we’re in — we don’t have time for her petty bitterness.”
This isn’t just Greene venting—plenty of other Republicans are piling on with their own gripes against Johnson, exposing cracks in the party’s facade.
Take Rep. Kevin Kiley from California, who’s fed up with how leadership fumbled key battles. “I think there’s a lot of concerns about the way things have been handled the last several months, starting with leadership, let this redistricting war break out, which is gonna upend the districts of dozens of our members. And then the fact we just weren’t here for two months,” Kiley recently said to Fox News Digital.
“And then the way that the House is really not in the driver’s seat on a lot of the key issues around here — I think all of that is pretty frustrating to a swath of the conference.”
Personal beefs are fueling the fire too. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York is convinced Johnson is sabotaging her push for a National Women’s Museum, something she claims has Trump’s backing.
“It’s been stalled by the speaker, in committee, despite having 165 sponsors from both parties,” Malliotakis fired off to Fox News Digital.
Then there’s Rep. Greg Steube from Florida, still steaming over Johnson’s maneuvers on the National Defense Authorization Act. “We’re getting shoved, and we just have to eat it, or, you know, vote against increasing pay to our military service members. It’s a very unfortunate situation to be in, that the speaker keeps putting us in,” Steube stated.
“I think getting Trump’s signature piece of legislation through is excellent, and everybody should be commended for that, because that was just a huge accomplishment, and it’ll do great things for the country next year. Now that we’ve gotten over that… now you’re kind of, like, what can we do next?”
The chorus of discontent grows louder with Rep. Nancy Mace from South Carolina, who unleashed a brutal takedown in an op-ed in the New York Times. “Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say,” Mace stated.
If Johnson is truly under White House thumb, as Greene claims, it raises serious questions about who’s really steering the ship in Congress.
