In a stunning announcement posted to Twitter/X on Friday night, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that she will resign her seat in the House on January 5, 2026. The announcement comes after Greene publicly skirmished with Donald Trump over the release of the Epstein files. Trump has responded by calling her a “traitor,” a “lunatic,” and “wacky,” saying he’ll refuse to take her phone calls, and that he’ll consider supporting a primary challenger against her.
In her announcement, Greene decried Trump’s attacks on her, writing, “Loyalty should be a two-way street.” Greene also said she’s being punished by Trump and the larger Republican Party for demanding a full release of files related to dead pedophile and one-time Trump friend Jeffrey Epstein: “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.” Lurid to the last, Greene also said she refused to be, as she put it, “a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”
“If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” Greene wrote (caps hers).
As first noted by journalist Will Sommer, Greene’s announcement also declared “There is no ‘plan to save the world,’” which is the title of a viral 2018 video by a well-known QAnon promoter. Greene repeatedly promoted QAnon conspiracy theories both before and after becoming a member of Congress, but has intermittently disavowed those beliefs of late years, most recently during an early November appearance on ‘The View.’
“There is no ‘plan to save the world’ or insane 4D chess game being played,” Greene wrote in her announcement, referring to QAnon believers’ claims that Trump is enacting a complex, hidden plan to bring a powerful pedophilic cabal to justice.
Greene first took office in January of 2021, quickly establishing herself as part of the most radical and conspiracy theory-addled wing of the Republican party. Before her first candidacy, Greene spent a lot of time on Facebook posting hateful, racist, Islamophobic, antisemitic, and otherwise toxic viewpoints, which included suggesting the Parkland and Sandy Hook shootings were hoaxes, and appeared to support committing political violence. Things did not improve after she began serving as an elected official: she promoted stolen election conspiracy theories and appeared as a surprise speaker at a 2022 conference organized by white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes, then pretended she had simply no idea how she’d found her way there or about Fuentes’ background and beliefs.
Since Trump was reelected and took office for the second time, Greene has tempered her Trump sycophancy and even offered public criticisms of him. She’s also espoused what are seen as more progressive views, including calling the war in Gaza a “genocide” this summer. Greene has also been vocal in her calls to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein in full; days ago, she appeared at a press conference with several Epstein survivors and called Trump’s handling of the scandal “destructive” to MAGA.
“Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart, and the only thing that will speak to the powerful, courageous women behind me is when action is actually taken to release these files, and the American people won’t tolerate any other bullshit,” Green said.
In her retirement announcement, Greene was clear that her plans to retire are directly linked to Trump’s attacks, writing, “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.”
In a recent Instagram Live video talking to her constituents, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) offered a different explanation for Green’s rebellion against Trump, saying that because Greene wanted to run for Senate “and Trump said no.” AOC dubbed Greene’s recent behavior a “revenge tour;” Greene responded by calling AOC “really jealous” of her.
Trump responded to Greene’s announcement early Saturday morning on TruthSocial, dubbing her “Majorie ‘Traitor’ Brown,” for some reason, and adding: “Her relationship with the WORST Republican Congressman in decades, Tom Massie of Kentucky, also known as Rand Paul Jr. because he votes against the Republican Party (and really good legislation!), did not help her. For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD. Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”
Greene didn’t give any indication in her announcement of what she plans to do with her sudden abundance of free time. Under federal law, by retiring after five years in office, Greene will be leaving precisely when she’s eligible to collect retirement benefits.
This post has been syndicated from Mother Jones, where it was published under this address.