Marjorie Taylor Greene, the MAGA firebrand who rose to prominence as a combative supporter of President Donald Trump, announced she is resigning from Congress after a public feud with him.
Greene, who was elected to Congress in 2020 from a rural northwestern Georgia district, made the surprise announcement in a Friday evening video address that referenced her falling out with Trump. The president branded her a “traitor” and withdrew his endorsement for supporting an effort he opposed to release files from the criminal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” she said in a statement posted on X.
Her resignation reflects increasing divisions within the MAGA movement that propelled Trump to power on a populist agenda that Greene had aggressively supported.
The lawmaker’s relationship with Trump soured after she joined calls from Democrats to release the Epstein files, criticized the president’s focus on foreign affairs and called for action on the expiring Obamacare subsidies.
“Loyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest because our job title is literally representative,’’ she said.
Greene said she will step down from office on Jan. 5.
She did not provide advance notice to to anyone in House Republican leadership, according to three people granted anonymity to describe internal matters.
Her resignation threatens to further tighten Speaker Mike Johnson’s Republican majority early next year.
The GOP holds a 219-213 advantage following Democrat Mikie Sherrill’s resignation this week after her election as New Jersey governor. That means Johnson can lose no more than two Republicans on a party-line vote.
Greene highlighted her record of supporting Trump since she entered Congress, noting that she only disagreed in a “few areas” with some of the president’s recent proposals on immigration, artificial intelligence and foreign policy along with her stance on the Epstein documents.
The White House had no immediate comment and appeared to be caught off-guard by her resignation.
“It is surprising to absolutely no one that she would exit in the most selfish way possible,” an administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the resignation before a statement had been released.
The growing divide between Trump and Greene came to a head last week when the president revoked his endorsement of Green in a scathing social media post in which he labeled her “wacky” and a “ranting lunatic.” Days later, he reversed his position on the Epstein case files and encouraged House Republicans to support a bill that would for the Department of Justice to release the documents.
Johnson later tried to paper over the rift between the Georgia Republican and Trump. The speaker acknowledged the dispute over the Epstein documents but said it was important that the party hold together.
“But look, I work on unity in the party, and my encouragement of everybody is to get together,” he said. “We’ve got to do all that in order to deliver for the people.”
Greene suggested in her statement that a looming primary challenge from a candidate aligned with the president factored into her decision — referring to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. as one of the actors pushing her aside.
“I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” she said.
Her resignation brings a stunning conclusion to a tumultuous tenure that included promoting outlandish conspiracy theories. In 2021, the House voted to strip her of her committee assignments for social media posts promoting violence towards prominent Democrats.
She also earned a reputation as a wild card among the House Republican caucus. In 2024, she attempted to remove Johnson from his position as the party was still recovering from a protracted fight that led to the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Days after being sworn into office for the first time, she joined a group of Republican members of Congress seeking to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory over Trump on Jan. 6., 2021.
Greene did not rule out a future run for office, suggesting she might run as an independent if she returned to politics.
“When the common American people finally realize and understand that the political industrial complex of both parties is ripping this country apart, that not one elected leader like me is able to stop Washington’s machine from gradually destroying our country, and instead the reality is that they, common Americans, the people, possess the real power over Washington,” she said, “then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it.”
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