Marjorie Taylor Greene came into Congress as one of Donald Trump's staunchest defenders. Sworn into office just days before the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, Greene supported the president and echoed his contention that the 2020 presidential election was 'stolen' when many in the Republican Party disavowed him. Now, five years later, Greene will leave Congress having been branded a 'traitor' by the man she once revered.
Over the course of just a handful of months, Greene broke with Trump in the most dramatic fashion. Although she had criticized Trump's decision to launch airstrikes on Iran, his support for Israel during the Gaza War, and a lack of sufficient regulation of big technology companies earlier this year, the final fracture began over Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted paedophile who had connections to the wealthy and powerful.
She condemned Trump's unwillingness to order his justice department to fully release its files on the case and appeared alongside Epstein's victims - and Democrats - to force a House vote on the matter. It didn't end there, however. Greene would also question Republican strategy during the recent government shutdown, siding with Democrats in calling on her party to address expiring healthcare subsidies for low-income Americans. She publicly berated Trump for what she said was an undue emphasis on foreign policy at the expense of addressing economic and affordability concerns.
Greene continued to insist that she supported Trump, but it became increasingly clear that she has a view of the 'America First' movement that differs from the US president's. An activist turned congresswoman who made her name railing against the political establishment had now found that the Maga - 'Make America Great Again' - movement she supported had become the establishment. And as the weight of Trump's power focused on her ouster – she broke for the exits with a few parting shots.
'I refuse to be a 'battered wife' hoping it all goes away and gets better,' she said in her resignation statement. '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.'
In a brief interview, Trump described Greene's departure from Congress as 'great news for the country'. He would later post on Truth Social that Greene 'went bad' but that he would 'always appreciate Marjorie and thank her for her service to our country'. Greene has indicated a desire to pursue a 'new path ahead' in her home state of Georgia, with her future in politics remaining uncertain but feasible given the changing dynamics within the Republican Party.
