Marjorie Taylor Greene Suggests Mike Johnson Is Being Blackmailed

Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced speculation that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is being "blackmailed" because she said his views have changed so much.

Speaking to conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on his show Tucker Carlson Uncensored, the Georgia Republican, who has emerged as a vocal Johnson critic in recent weeks, said the Louisiana Republican "has completely changed his character," leading to speculation that he may be being "blackmailed."

There has not been any evidence to substantiate this view. Newsweek contacted Johnson's office by email to comment on this story.

"Mike Johnson has completely changed his character in a matter of about five months after he has become speaker of the House," she said.

She added that while Johnson is a Christian and a conservative, his commitment to passing aid for Ukraine and the $1.2 trillion spending bill to fund government agencies passed last month shows he is changing.

"Mike Johnson has made a complete departure of who he is and what he stands for and to the point where people are literally asking 'is he blackmailed? What is wrong with him?' because he's completely disconnected with what we want," she said.

Asked by Carlson if she believed Johnson is being blackmailed, Greene said she had "no idea" if he was but that he had made a number of policy changes since becoming speaker of the House in October 2023.

"We don't know who Mike Johnson is anymore so I can't comprehend it," she said.

Greene previously supported Johnson as speaker following the ousting of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. But since then, her views on the speaker have appeared to change.

Last month, she introduced a motion to vacate Johnson, criticizing his spending bill.

She has also criticized Johnson over plans to introduce a vote on the $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, which was approved by the Senate last month. During a Fox News interview on Sunday, he suggested a vote on a standalone bill could come soon after Congress returns from its Easter break on April 9.

Johnson's border policy has also been a point of contention for Greene. Responding to a clip of a Fox News correspondent's report on a team of "elite Boston based ICE deportation officers as they arrested four alleged child rapists & a violent MS-13 gang member in a single morning," Greene this week posted on X: "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing. Speaker Johnson completely surrendered all power we had in the House to stop horrendous crimes like child rape by illegals when he fully funded Biden's deadly open border without a fight."