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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a once-staunch supporter of Donald Trump who has become a critic of the president, said Friday she will resign from Congress in January.
Greene explained her decision in a more than 10-minute video posted online, saying she was “always despised in Washington, D.C. and just never fit in.”
Greene’s resignation followed a public spat with Trump in recent months, when the congresswoman criticized him for his stance on files related to Jeffrey Epstein as well as foreign policy and health care.
Trump branded her a “traitor” and “crazy” and said he would support a challenger against her if she runs for re-election next year.
Greene has been closely aligned with the Republican president since the start of her political career in 2020.
In her video, she underscored her longstanding loyalty to Trump, except for a few points, and said it was “unfair and wrong” that he attacked her over her disagreement.
“Loyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote according to our conscience and represent the interests of our district because our job title is literally ‘representative,'” she said.
Greene came to office at the head of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and quickly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill for her often outside-the-mainstream views.
When she embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and appeared with white supremacists, Greene was rejected by party leaders but welcomed by Trump. He called her “a real WINNER!”
But over time, she proved to be a skilled legislator, as she allied herself with then-GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who later became Speaker of the House. She was a trusted voice on the right until McCarthy was ousted in 2023
