Exclusive: MTG slams parts of Trump's second-term agenda as "America Last"
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., holds her "Make America Great Again" hat during the news conference outside the Capitol on May 1, 2024. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
One of President Trump's most visible MAGA allies in Congress is accusing Republicans of losing their "America First" identity.
Why it matters: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) won't cross the line of directly criticizing President Trump. But she told Axios that parts of his second-term agenda are "America Last."
- "It's a revolving door at the White House of foreign leaders when Americans are, you know, screaming from their lungs," she told Axios in an interview on Thursday.
- "If me saying those things are considered breaking with my party, then what is the Republican Party? I thought we were America First?" she said.
- Greene praised Trump multiple times throughout the interview, telling Axios he's done "a great job in a lot of places." But she said the administration's focus on overseas wars contradicts the MAGA movement.
Zoom in: "Inflation skyrocketed under the Biden administration. But it's like, okay, well, now we're in charge, and when are we working on this?" she added.
- Greene stunned colleagues by siding with Democrats on calling for action on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, warning the lapse would be a financial hit to her constituents, and even her own children.
- "Republicans have no plan," she said of health care, "[House Speaker] Mike Johnson has not had a single conference meeting about any sort of plan to deal with the ACA tax credits expiring."
- She hasn't had any conversations with Democrats about a deal, noting it's hard to negotiate when Johnson (R-La.) has kept lawmakers out of town for the past month.
The big picture: "What am I saying that can be criticized? I'm saying the cost of living is too high, health insurance premiums are destroying the middle class, and Republicans have no plan." she said.
- She called the administration's $40 billion bailout of Argentina "America Last," arguing it leaves U.S. farmers "on the verge of bankruptcy."
- She also warned tariff instability is squeezing farmers and U.S. manufacturing, who "don't know if the tariff policy is going to change with a Truth Social post."
- Greene supports Trump's overall goals on tariffs, including "made in America" and pursuing "reciprocity in trade," she told Axios.
The intrigue: Greene has shown the same willingness to challenge her party's leadership that she once directed at Democrats.
- She's frustrated with both parties, but told Axios she's not considering becoming an independent.
- "The extreme division in our country is extraordinarily alarming and sad," she said. "It's embedded in the in the two party system."
- "Democrats have to hate Republicans to gin up fundraising — and the same thing happens on our side. Everyday Americans are so sick of it," she added.
The bottom line: Criticism from fellow Republicans about Greene's public breaks with the party doesn't bother her, she said.
- "It doesn't faze me at all," she said, noting that 11 of her Republican colleagues voted to kick her off her committees when she first arrived in Congress in 2021.
