Former President Trump joked that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) should be nice to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) during a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting Thursday, a sign that the presumptive GOP nominee is trying to keep the peace within his ranks in the lead-up to the November elections.
The quip came about a month after Greene triggered a motion to vacate against Johnson, which was tabled after Democrats and most Republicans joined forces to quash the measure. Trump urged lawmakers to table the resolution in a statement on Truth Social that posted minutes after the vote had ended.
Three sources in Thursday’s private GOP conference meeting told The Hill that Trump asked Greene to be nice to Johnson. One source noted that the request was made in a joking way, and said Trump also complimented Greene.
Greene confirmed the interaction when speaking to reporters after the meeting.
“President Trump saw me, I don’t know how he saw me because I was sitting a ways back, and he said hello Marjorie, and he joked and he said, ‘Are you being nice to Speaker Johnson?’ And I said ‘eh,’” Greene said, waving her hand back and forth.
“And he goes, ‘OK, you be nice to him,’” Greene continued. “And then he also said, he said, ‘She’s loyal to me. She shows up wherever I go, she supports me,’ and he told everyone in the room that I’m very capable, and I always appreciate President Trump.”
Greene and Johnson have had an acrimonious relationship since shortly after the Louisiana Republican won the gavel following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ouster. Greene criticized Johnson’s policy decisions at every turn — including his moves on Ukraine aid, government funding and the U.S.’s warrantless spying powers — before bringing a motion to vacate against the Speaker.
The ouster attempt was short-lived: Republicans quickly moved to table Greene’s resolution, which was successful with the help from Democrats.
Emily Brooks contributed.