In a move that stunned Washington heading into the holiday week, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday night that she will resign from Congress on January 5, ending one of the most explosive and polarizing tenures on Capitol Hill in recent memory.
According to The New York Times, Greene, first elected in 2020, built her national profile as one of Donald Trump’s most loyal defenders — until the loyalty snapped. Her resignation comes days after Trump publicly branded her a “traitor” for siding with Democrats and helping force the release of Justice Department files connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
Filming a video from her home in Georgia with a Christmas tree behind her, Greene said she was done with being punished for voting her conscience. “Loyalty should be a two-way street,” she wrote, adding that if MAGA world no longer wanted her, “many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well.”
Trump, never one to leave a feud unresolved, reportedly told ABC News that Greene’s exit is “great news for the country.”
A Sudden Break From a Once-Unshakeable Alliance
It’s rare for a member of Congress to bail mid-term without a medical or personal emergency. Greene made it clear that this is a political divorce — and she wasn’t willing to slog through a brutal primary battle fueled by the former president.
“I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better,” she wrote.
Her departure caps a chaotic evolution. Greene arrived in 2021 as an outcast, stripped of committee assignments for promoting conspiracy theories. Over time, she reinvented herself — aligning with then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, landing prime committee seats, and briefly acting as a GOP team player. But the breaks with Trump over Epstein files, Gaza, AI regulation, and foreign policy pushed her into new territory: a Republican willing to publicly challenge the party’s most dominant figure.
From MAGA Firebrand to Free Agent
Greene’s recent arc has been one of the more surprising political pivots of the year. She found herself welcomed on platforms that once shunned her — including CNN and The View. In a recent interview, she apologized for contributing to the toxic political climate.
But her stance on the Epstein files was likely the tipping point, and her floor speech earlier this week — delivered from the Democratic side of the chamber — raised eyebrows across the aisle.
“These American women aren’t rich, powerful elites,” she said. “These are your average Americans.” It didn’t take long for Trump to react. Last week, he withdrew his endorsement, blasting her on social media: “All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!”
Shockwaves Inside the GOP
Her announcement blindsided Republican leadership, staff, and even some of her allies. Speaker Mike Johnson — who narrowly survived Greene’s attempt to oust him last year, offered no immediate comment.
Steve Bannon, longtime MAGA strategist, told reporters, “The House is not big enough for her ambitions or personality… We haven’t seen or heard the last of M.T.G.” If Bannon is right, Greene’s next act is coming, just not from inside the Capitol.
Her resignation takes effect January 5.
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