In brief
Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has declared her resignation from Congress effective January 5, 2026, amidst a heated public dispute with former President Donald Trump. Greene, who rose to fame within Trump's MAGA movement, cited a desire to avoid a divisive primary battle after Trump threatened to support a challenger against her. Greene has indicated potential future political ambitions as she critiques Trump over recent controversies regarding the Epstein documents.
Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she will resign from office in January, an unexpected turn for the high-profile Republican days after a public feud with President Donald Trump.
Greene, who became one of Trump's MAGA superstars in U.S. politics, posted a video statement on social media announcing she would leave Congress on January 5, 2026. I look forward to a new path ahead, she said in a social media post.
Greene gained mainstream notoriety with her support and promotion of conspiracies and devout support for the president - until their recent soured relationship. She and Trump had a public row over the release of files related to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a video statement announcing her resignation, Greene ticked off a list of achievements and criticized Trump, who threatened to back a Republican candidate to unseat her in next year's election.
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 stated.
While she announced her departure from the House of Representatives, reports in U.S. media have indicated Greene has shown an interest in running for state office - either as Georgia governor or for a Senate seat.
The president has commented publicly about those ambitions, writing on Truth Social during their public feud that he had previously advised her against running for either of those offices due to poor public polling.
Before their falling out, Trump and Greene had been long-time allies with the Georgia representative championing the 'America First' agenda. But their relationship soured after Greene became one of a handful of Republicans to support a petition for the release of all files held by the U.S. government related to Epstein.
Trump was initially against the legislation but reversed course and asked Republicans to support it after it became evident Greene and a number of other Republicans would join Democrats to pass the measure.
Greene has been one of the loudest voices demanding the release of documents related to Epstein, an issue that once united Trump and his MAGA base but has become divisive.
Over the last few months, she has appeared on various high-profile news shows, criticizing Trump and fellow Republicans. She questioned whether Trump was still putting 'America First' given his focus on foreign policy and criticized his tariff policies.
Trump responded in a series of social media posts, calling Greene a 'traitor' and 'wacky', vowing to support a challenger for her congressional seat.
The measure forcing the Justice Department to release the Epstein files passed Congress on Tuesday, and Trump signed it into law on Wednesday.
