Donald Trump appears to be trying to play the role of diplomat amid ongoing tensions between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
For weeks, the Georgia representative has threatened to oust Johnson from his chair ever since the House passed a $1.2 trillion government funding bill, arguing that it did not do much to move forward the GOP’s priorities such as immigration.
On Friday, Trump tried to ease those tensions with his public endorsement of the Speaker during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“I stand with the speaker,” Trump told reporters as Johnson stood beside the former president.
When asked about Greene’s motion to vacate, Trump said that he got along well with both representatives and claimed that Greene sympathized with the difficult job Johnson has faced since he took up the role as Speaker.
“I think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said, adding, “I’m sure that Marjorie understands that. She’s a very good friend of mine, and I know that she has a lot of respect for the Speaker.”
But hours before Trump held his press conference, the Georgia representative repeatedly criticized the Speaker on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” show.
Greene excoriated Johnson for Friday’s passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which she said gives the federal government too much power to spy on citizens. She then went on a brief tirade about the coverage she’s received from mainstream media and claimed that most Americans would agree with her ideas.
“They know I mean exactly every single word I say, and I’m not full of shit just like Mike Johnson is, and I’m actually going to follow through with action instead of lie to people on television, and in press conferences, and out on the campaign trail,” she said.
In March, Greene filed a motion to vacate Johnson only months after the House was thrown into chaos after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was removed from his speakership. Greene previously supported McCarthy’s bid to become Speaker and was one of the 210 Republicans who voted to keep the California representative in his seat.
Greene’s calls to oust Johnson from his role have frustrated some of her Republican colleagues and those in Trump’s orbit.
One source close to Trump told Politico that Greene’s threats were “100 percent distraction. Unwanted. And just stupid.”
Spokespeople for Greene, Johnson, and Trump did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.
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