Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu,in Washington, and
Anthony Zurcher,North America correspondent, in Washington
Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she will resign from office, an unexpected turn for the high-profile Republican.
One of Donald Trump’s Maga superstars and staunchest defenders, the Georgia congresswoman’s relentless calls for releasing files related to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and recent criticism of some of his policies led to a bitter public feud.
After the US president labelled her a “traitor”, she said in a video announcing her departure: “I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”
Trump, who had threatened to support a Republican challenger to unseat Greene, called her resignation “great news for the country” in an interview with ABC News.
She said in her video statement, posted on social media, that she would leave the US Congress on 5 January 2026.
Greene said in the announcement that she did “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 had been one of the loudest demanding the release of documents related to Epstein, an issue that once united Trump and his base but has since become divisive.
Trump had spent months arguing that the issue was a distraction concocted by his political detractors to divert attention from his administration’s achievements.
“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,” Greene said in her resignation letter.
Over the last few months, she has gone on a number of high-profile news shows and was critical of Trump and fellow Republicans.
She took issue with the president not doing enough to bring down living costs for voters and criticised his policy of introducing tariffs on imports. But above all, she criticised his administration for not releasing documents related to Epstein.
Trump responded last week in a series of social media posts, calling Greene a “traitor” and “wacky”. He said she should be unseated and vowed to back a challenger for her place in Congress.
Days after their feud boiled over, with a growing number of Republicans calling for their release, Trump reversed course and said he would support their publication. He signed a bill this week that forces the US Justice Department to release the documents within 30 days.
Greene was elected to Congress in 2020 amid a backdrop of headlines over her support and promotion of QAnon conspiracies, including claiming school shootings and the 9/11 terror attacks were staged. She has since apologised and sought to distance herself from those comments.
In the video announcing her resignation, Greene ticked off a list of political achievements. She noted in her resignation letter that the comments from Trump were “hurtful”.
AFP via Getty ImagesWhile she announced her departure from the House of Representatives, US media reports 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 told her that she shouldn’t run for either of those offices due to poor public polling.
Greene has since said she did not plan to run for either of those offices.
Before their public falling out, Trump and Greene had been close allies in championing the “America First” agenda. She joined him on the campaign trail and was one of the Republicans most vocal about Trump’s false claims that he’d won the 2020 presidential election against Joe Biden.
Her departure will further close the gap in the Republican-led House of Representatives, who only hold a handful of seats more than Democrats. Control of the chamber will be up for grabs in the 2026 midterm elections next November.
