Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has indicated she is willing to negotiate with Democrats over healthcare insurance costs – the central political issue that has kept the US government shut down since 1 October.
Indicating that she is willing to stand against her party on the issue, Greene said Monday night in a post on the social platform X that she’s “absolutely disgusted” insurance premiums could double if a system of tax credits dating back to Barack Obama’s presidency is allowed to expire at the end of the year.
But the US House member from Georgia, who has previously criticized her fellow Republicans on several key issues, including funding for Ukraine and the war in Gaza, did not have kind words of the Affordable Care Act itself – which took 427 days to pass during Obama’s first term and stands as his signature legislation.
“Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan,” she wrote. “But I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.
“I was not in Congress when all this Obamacare, ‘Affordable Care Act’ bullshit started,” Greene wrote. “I got here in 2021. As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment.”
Greene, an adherent to the “Make America great again” (Maga) movement that has resulted in two presidencies for Donald Trump, said she was prepared to stand against her party on the issue. Republicans maintain that Democrats must allow the government to re-open before they will discuss healthcare concessions.
Greene made it a point to say that she has not changed her mind about opposing free healthcare to immigrants in the US without legal status – although, as Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said recently in an interview with ABC News, “federal law prohibits the use of Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act to provide health insurance in any way, shape or form to undocumented immigrants”.
The one big beautiful act passed earlier during Trump’s second presidency, meanwhile, ended the eligibility of many types of lawfully present immigrants to access federally funded health coverage for private health insurance.
“I’m not towing the party line on this, or playing loyalty games,” Greene said. “I’m a Republican and won’t vote for illegals to have any tax payer funded healthcare or benefits. I’m AMERICA ONLY!!!”
Greene also criticized members of her party for failing to find a solution or prioritize that issue over funding for the Ukraine-Russia war as well as Israel’s war in Gaza.
“All our country does is fund foreign countries and foreign wars, and never does anything to help the American people!!!” she added. “It is absolutely shameful, disgusting, and traitorous, that our laws and policies screw the American people so much that the government is shut down right now fighting over basic issues like this.”
Greene’s turn comes as Trump signaled a possible opening for a deal with Democrats, before appearing to walk it back.
“If we made the right deal, I’d make a deal – sure,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. But Trump later posted on social media that he is happy to work with Democrats on any issue “but first they must allow our government to re-open”.
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