Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces Resignation from Congress Following Trump Fallout

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced Friday she will resign from Congress in January, ending a tumultuous tenure marked by controversy and, most recently, a bitter falling-out with President Donald Trump.

The firebrand Republican, who rose to prominence as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, explained her decision in a 10-minute video recorded in her living room. Greene cited her desire to spare her congressional district “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for.”

Her resignation follows a public rift with Trump over several policy issues, including her criticism of his positions on Jeffrey Epstein-related files, foreign policy, and health care. The former allies’ relationship deteriorated to the point where Trump branded her a “traitor” and “wacky,” promising to endorse a challenger against her in the next election cycle.

“My life is filled with happiness, and my true convictions remain unchanged, because my self-worth is not defined by a man, but instead by God,” Greene said in the video, seated with a Christmas tree visible in the background.

When contacted Friday night, Trump told ABC News that Greene’s resignation is “great news for the country.” He indicated he had no plans to speak with her but wished her well.

Greene’s departure, effective January 5, 2026, marks a significant fracture in Trump’s MAGA coalition. As one of the most vocal and visible supporters of Trump’s political agenda, her break with the former president represented a notable crack in his influence over conservative Republicans. However, her decision to step down rather than face his opposition ultimately follows a pattern established by moderate Republicans who previously crossed Trump.

“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,'” Greene said in her resignation video.

First elected to the House in 2020, Greene quickly became a polarizing figure in Washington. Initially planning to run in a competitive district in northern Atlanta’s suburbs, she relocated to the much more conservative 14th District in Georgia’s northwest corner, where she handily won election.

Her announcement creates a vacancy that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp must address within 10 days by setting a special election to fill the remainder of her term through January 2027. That special election could potentially take place before the party primaries in May.

Throughout her congressional career, Greene earned a reputation for embracing conspiracy theories and using inflammatory rhetoric. Before her election, she suggested that the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting was a coordinated attack designed to build support for gun restrictions. She also once endorsed the idea that the U.S. government perpetrated the September 11, 2001 attacks and questioned whether a plane had truly hit the Pentagon.

Greene was once associated with QAnon, the online conspiracy theory network that believes a global cabal of Satan-worshipping cannibals, including U.S. government leaders, operates a child sex trafficking ring. She later distanced herself from these views, saying she had been “sucked into some of the things I had seen on the internet.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she drew widespread backlash after comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust, for which she later apologized. She also faced ridicule for speculating that California wildfires might have been caused by “lasers or blue beams of light” controlled by a left-wing cabal tied to a prominent Jewish family.

Despite her controversial statements, Greene proved to be a savvy legislator, aligning herself with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy until his ouster in 2023. She was a trusted voice for the right wing of the party and often served as a surrogate for Trump’s views during his time out of office.

During President Biden’s State of the Union addresses, Greene made headlines by shouting “Build the wall” in 2022 and confronting him over border security following the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in 2023. Wearing a red MAGA hat and a T-shirt referencing Riley, she handed the president a button that said “Say Her Name” and shouted the phrase during his speech.

Greene’s discontent with Republican leadership grew over time. In her resignation video, she expressed frustration that “the legislature has been mostly sidelined” since Republicans took unified control of Washington in January, complaining that her bills “just sit collecting dust.”

She predicted Republicans would lose the midterm elections next year and said she refused to “be a battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better” by defending a president who “hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.”

“It’s all so absurd and completely unserious,” she concluded.