Summary
- Marjorie Taylor Greene expresses frustration with House GOP leadership.
- Criticizes repeated short-term spending votes as “complete failure.”
- Disagrees with strategy to keep government shutdown ongoing.
Members have continued to hold public events and news conferences; the House has not engaged in official legislative work since its last vote on September 19.
"The House should be in session working. We should be finishing appropriations. Our committees should be working. We should be passing bills that make President (Donald) Trump’s executive orders permanent. I have no respect for the decision to refuse to work,"
Greene, a member of Congress for the Southern state of Georgia, said on US social media company X.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the House of Representatives on Monday as the US government shutdown entered its twentieth day. The House hasn't taken a recorded vote since last month.
The Senate will meet again on Monday for its eleventh vote on whether to move forward with a plan that was passed by the House that would finance the government and end the current shutdown.
"It's been over a month since the House of Representatives even took a single roll call vote. That's shameful, that's derelict. Government workers must work without getting paid. House Republicans get paid without working,"
Schumer said on the Senate floor.
In each attempt thus far, the measure has fallen short of the 60-vote threshold, and there is no sign that this time around the result will be any different.
What specific demands Greene is making of House leadership?
She wants the House to reconvene and work on passing the 12 regular appropriations bills, rather than continuing the shutdown or counting on short- term extensions. She believes this focused approach would allow for proper policy and budget adaptations.
Greene supports some crucial popular demands, especially an extension of expiring Obamacare premium subsidies to help a sharp rise in health insurance costs, despite her general opposition to Obamacare. She has blamed GOP leadership for not adequately addressing this health insurance extremity.
She opposes the current shutdown strategy of staying for senators to drop healthcare demands before continuing the government. She urges engagement with senators to solve these issues while continuing appropriations work.