'That's absurd': Mike Johnson blasts MAGA lawmaker in open rebellion

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) slammed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) during an interview on CNN after she claimed that Republicans are hurting people by allowing health care subsidies to expire.

Greene has broken with Republican leadership in recent weeks over the government shutdown and President Donald Trump's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he promised to release while he was campaigning. For instance, Greene joined Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) at a press conference with Epstein's victims. She also criticized how Republicans have handled the shutdown on comedian Theo Von's podcast, "This Past Weekend."

On Wednesday, Greene called out Johnson in a post on X, saying, "he has ideas and pages of policy, but did not say a single policy plan" during the Republicans' weekly conference call.

"Republicans, it’s time to build the off-ramp off of Obamacare in a responsible way, deregulate healthcare and pharmaceuticals and demand price transparency across the board, and incentivize the market in such a way to open up competition which will drive down cost. Pick up your bat and ball and get in the game," Greene posted on X.

Johnson discussed Greene's comment on CNN's "The Source" with Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday night.

"Bless her heart, that's an absurd statement," Johnson said. "These calls are obviously monitored by media, so we are not going to have actual strategy discussions on a line where you have hundreds of people listening in because it would be reported on the first page."

"Marjorie is not here in Washington; she is not on the committees of jurisdiction, and she's not in on those specific discussions, but she will be soon," he added.