Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces Resignation From Congress After Public Rift With Trump:

In a stunning political development that underscores growing fractures within the MAGA movement, Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she will resign from Congress. Once one of Donald Trump’s fiercest defenders and most influential voices on the far right, the Georgia congresswoman revealed late Friday that she will step down effective January 5, 2026. Greene made the announcement in a lengthy written and video statement posted to social media. In it, she lamented what she described as a one-sided loyalty within the Republican Party and an environment in Washington that never accepted her. “Loyalty should be a two-way street,” Greene said. “Congress has mostly been sidelined under the Trump administration.” She added that she had always tried to represent ordinary Americans, which in her view made her a target of Washington insiders. “I’ve been despised in Washington, DC, and never fit in,” she said. Her resignation follows a dramatic and very public falling-out with former President Trump, who recently withdrew all political support for the congresswoman he once championed. Trump had taken to his Truth Social platform to label her a “lightweight” and even a “traitor” to the Republican Party—language that shocked many of her longtime supporters. Trump reacted briskly to the news of her departure. “I think it’s great news for the country,” he told ABC News, doubling down on his break from the fiery lawmaker. Greene said her decision was motivated partly by a desire to shield her supporters and family from what she described as a “hurtful and hateful primary” — a primary she said would have been fueled by Trump’s attacks. “I do not want them to endure that,” she explained. A key element of the rift between the once-allied figures centers on Greene’s vocal push to release government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While Trump dismissed Epstein-related inquiries as a “Democrat hoax,” Greene argued that transparency was essential, especially for justice-seeking victims. “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,” she said, directly rebuking Trump. She noted that she had fought hard for his presidency, only to be met with hostility when she challenged him on this issue. Under bipartisan pressure, Trump this week signed a bill requiring the release of Epstein-related files after both chambers of Congress approved the measure with overwhelming support. Greene has also broken with many in her party on foreign policy. Earlier this year, she became the first Republican member of Congress to label Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza a “genocide,” a stance that drew intense criticism from GOP colleagues and pro-Israel groups. Her resignation marks one of the clearest signs yet of a widening ideological split within the MAGA world—coming just weeks after strong Democratic performances in off-year elections and on the same day Trump held a notably warm White House meeting with New York’s progressive Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Greene says she has been targeted by a wave of threats since Trump turned on her. Her early exit sets the stage for a contentious political reshuffling in Georgia and beyond, and signals that the internal battles within the Republican Party may intensify as the 2026 midterm elections approach.

NEWS