Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has recently emerged as a vocal critic of some aspects of the Republican Party and the Trump administration, and seems determined to bring the lawmakers in Washington in line with the voters who sent them there.

Though Greene has always been something of a fringe politician within the GOP conference, her differences with party leadership were usually limited to approach or procedure, rather than on issues themselves.

Her willingness to criticize Israel’s conduct during the Gaza War marked one of her most notable splits with the GOP as she joined a growing bloc of Republican voters increasingly concerned about Jerusalem’s influence on Washington. Beyond foreign affairs, she has used the government shutdown and the Democrats’ calls for healthcare funding to highlight the GOP’s lack of policy on that issue.

She led a personal quest to secure a commutation for former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., that led to his release from prison this week.

Individually, these moves may fall within the ordinary realm of a lawmaker with a minor difference of opinion. But collectively, they signal considerable personal dissatisfaction with the GOP and a desire to hold the party’s feet to the fire to honor its own pledges.

“I actually ran for Congress in 2020 angry with Republicans in Congress — which is pretty much where I’m at now again — for always campaigning one way, but when they get the majority, they govern another,” she told Semafor in a recent interview.

America Only

Greene has traditionally identified with the “America First” movement of President Donald Trump, but she has gradually embraced an “America Only” mantra due to increased concerns that her former association tends to buckle under foreign pressure.

“I’m America First. Maybe even America only. I don’t care if you call me an isolationist. America is our home. And it’s falling apart,” she said on social media in August. “When my children’s generation are buried in credit card debt, student loan debt, can’t afford rent, can’t afford car insurance, health insurance, and feel like they will never be able to afford to buy a home, Yes. I’m unapologetically and radically AMERICA FIRST.”

Greene: "If that offends you, be offended"

But by mid-October, she stopped using the Trump-associated phrase and fully embraced her own variant.

“I’m UNAPOLOGETICALLY fighting my kids generation and America ONLY. If that offends you, be offended,” Greene posted earlier this month.

Greene has increasingly employed that mantra in criticizing administration policies of sending funds overseas, notably in response to the $40 billion bailout to Argentina and the president’s plan to purchase beef from that country to stabilize domestic prices.

The Georgia Republican responded to a post urging Trump to abandon the beef purchase and to back American farmers instead.

“I’m hearing the same sentiment in my district. ‘We love President Trump, please tell him to stop helping foreign countries and put Americans first.’ At this point, help Americans only!” she said.

“It is mind-boggling why we would do this with Argentina,” she told Semafor. “There’s a lot of people in MAGA that try to always stick with the talking points … but there’s a lot of people that can’t spin this one.”

MTG and Israel

Greene became a GOP persona non grata among some conservative lawmakers after she decidedly broke with the mainline party position and accused the Israelis of committing a genocide in Gaza. “We are beyond fed up with being told that we have to fix the world’s problems, pay for the world’s problems, and fight all the world’s wars while Americans are struggling to survive even though they work everyday,” she said in July. 

“And many of us, even though we are Christians, no longer want to fund and fight nuclear-armed, secular Israel’s wars especially when it leads to starving children and killing innocent people, including Christians,” she added. “Of course we are against radical Islamic terrorism, but we are also against genocide."

She has further called for making the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) register as a foreign agent, running afoul of a group known to fund a considerable number of Republican lawmakers.

Republican support for Israel has traditionally been extremely strong, though younger Republicans have decidedly turned against the country, recent polling has suggested.

Health Care

Many of Greene’s policy shifts appear to take their motivation from a desire to help younger Americans, especially her children. Unsurprisingly, young Americans have a number of different economic interests than older generations, with the rising costs of health care ranking among the top.

To be sure, Greene has made clear that she neither supports maintaining the Affordable Care Act, nor creating a public healthcare system in the European mold. Instead, her criticisms have focused on the GOP’s unwillingness to deal with short-term cost rises amid the shutdown and its failure to articulate an alternative plan for health care as a whole.

“The ACA (Obamacare) was passed in 2010 by Democrats, which created the healthcare crisis we are now in,” she said this month. “The results have been insurers leaving the market place, premiums skyrocketing, and the level of care dropping. D’s want to keep funding it and R’s have no new solution.”

Cost of Living

In her recent interview on Semafor, Greene made clear that some of her concerns were for the GOP’s electoral success in 2026.

“I can’t see into the future, but I see Republicans losing the House if Americans are continuing to go paycheck-to-paycheck,” she said. “They’ll definitely be going into the midterms looking through the lens of their bank account.”

Greene doubled down on Tuesday following the release of OpenBrand alternative metrics showing inflation on the rise. “As I’ve been saying. Cost of living is hurting Americans and not improving,” she insisted. “This should be the focus 1,000,000%, not foreign countries and their never-ending handouts.”

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.