Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a figure who once stood as a symbol of unwavering loyalty to former President Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, announced on November 21, 2025, that she will resign from Congress effective January 5, 2026. The news, delivered through a video and a written statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), sent shockwaves through Washington and the broader Republican base, highlighting not only a dramatic personal and political rupture but also a moment of reckoning for the conservative movement she helped define.
Greene’s resignation comes on the heels of a very public falling-out with Trump, the man she once fiercely defended at rallies, during impeachment proceedings, and on the floor of the House. According to ABC News, Trump withdrew his support for Greene just a week prior to her announcement, after she criticized his handling of the Justice Department’s investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein and signed a discharge petition to compel the release of related files. Trump did not mince words, calling Greene a “ranting Lunatic,” “Marjorie Traitor Greene,” and pledging to back a primary challenger against her.
In her resignation statement, Greene addressed the rift directly: “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 wrote. She went on to say, “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.”
Greene’s decision to step down is not just a personal matter—it has significant implications for the Republican Party’s fragile majority in the House. With her resignation, the GOP’s margin will shrink, at least temporarily, to 219 seats, as reported by ABC News. Speaker Mike Johnson’s office did not confirm whether they had prior notice of Greene’s plans, while Georgia Governor Brian Kemp will be tasked with setting a special election date within ten days of her departure to fill the remainder of her term in the heavily Republican 14th District.
For many, Greene’s resignation marks the end of an era. She was first elected in 2020 after relocating to the conservative stronghold of northwest Georgia. Quickly, she became one of the most visible and controversial members of Congress, embracing Trump’s combative style and often drawing national headlines for her unapologetic rhetoric. She wore a red MAGA hat to President Biden’s State of the Union address, chanted “Build the wall” on the House floor, and regularly sparred with Democratic colleagues. Greene was also no stranger to controversy, having once been stripped of her committee assignments for spreading conspiracy theories, making anti-Semitic and Islamophobic remarks, and, at times, calling for violence against political opponents, as reported by The 19th and the Associated Press.
Yet, as the current Congress wore on, cracks began to show in Greene’s steadfast support for Trump and the Republican leadership. She became increasingly critical of both parties for failing to address issues of affordability, especially around health care, and lambasted House Speaker Mike Johnson for not working to pass a funding plan during what she called the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. “During the longest shutdown in our nation’s history, I raged against my own Speaker and my own party for refusing to proactively work diligently to pass a plan to save American healthcare and protect Americans from outrageous, overpriced and unaffordable health insurance policies,” Greene said in her statement, as cited by The 19th. “The House should have been in session working every day to fix this disaster, but instead America was force fed disgusting political drama once again from both sides of the aisle.”
Her outspoken stance on the Epstein files became a flashpoint. Greene, one of three House Republican women to sign a discharge petition demanding the release of Justice Department documents on Epstein, accused Trump of betraying the movement’s promise of transparency. “For people that stood hours, slept in their cars to go to rallies, have fought for truth and transparency, and to hold what we consider a corrupt government accountable, watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,” she said at a news conference with Epstein’s survivors. “And the only thing that will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release these files.”
The backlash from Trump’s camp was swift and severe. Greene reported facing increased threats following the president’s public attacks. She is not alone in this; in recent months, other lawmakers have reported a spike in threats after being targeted by Trump’s rhetoric. In a November 16 interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Greene admitted, “It’s a fair criticism” that she did not denounce Trump’s attacks on others until she herself became a target. Reflecting on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, she added, “I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics. It’s very bad for our country. And it’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, is that I’m only responsible for myself and my own words and actions. I am going, I am committed, and I’ve been working on this a lot lately, to put down the knives in politics. I really just want to see people be kind to one another.”
Despite her polarizing reputation, Greene’s political strength in her district was formidable—she won reelection in 2024 by nearly 30 points. Still, she warned that her ouster from the MAGA movement signaled a broader betrayal: “If I am cast aside, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” she wrote. In her video, Greene insisted, “My self-worth is not defined by a man, but instead by God.”
Her resignation is part of a broader wave of departures from Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as noted by the Associated Press. While Greene’s future in politics remains uncertain—she left the door open to a possible return—her exit underscores the turbulence and factionalism now gripping the Republican Party. Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who led the effort to release the Epstein files, expressed both sorrow and admiration: “I’m very sad for our country but so happy for my friend Marjorie. Everyone should read her statement; there’s more honesty expressed in these four pages than most politicians will speak in a lifetime.”
In the end, Greene’s resignation is more than a personal decision—it’s a barometer of the shifting winds within American conservatism and a reminder of the costs, both personal and political, of dissent in the age of Trump.
