By MICHELLE L. PRICE, LISA MASCARO and JEFF AMY<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/a> of Georgia, a loyal supporter-turned-critic of President Donald Trump who faced his political retribution if she sought reelection, said Friday she is resigning from Congress in January. <\/p>\n Greene, in a more than 10-minute video posted online, explained her decision and said she didn\u2019t want her congressional district \u201cto have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Greene\u2019s resignation followed a public fallout with Trump in recent months, as the congresswoman criticized him for his stance on files related to Jeffrey Epstein, along with foreign policy and health care.<\/p>\n Trump branded her a \u201ctraitor\u201d and \u201cwacky\u201d and said he would endorse a challenger against her when she ran for reelection next year.<\/p>\n She said her last day would be Jan. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Friday night.<\/p>\n In a brief phone call Friday night, Trump told ABC News that Greene\u2019s resignation is \u201cgreat news for the country.\u201d He said had no plans to speak with Greene but wishes her well.<\/p>\n Greene was one of the most vocal and visible supporters of Trump\u2019s Make America Great Again politics, and she embraced some of his unapologetic political style.<\/p>\n Her break with him was a notable fissure in his grip over conservatives, particularly his most ardent base. But her decision to step down in the face of his opposition put her on the same track as many of the more moderate establishment Republicans before her who went crosswise with Trump.<\/p>\n The congresswoman, who recorded the video announcing her resignation while sitting in her living room wearing a cross necklace and with a Christmas tree and a peace lily plant behind her, said, \u201cMy life is filled with happiness, and my true convictions remain unchanged, because my self-worth is not defined by a man, but instead by God.\u201d<\/p>\n A crack in the MAGA movement<\/p>\n Greene had been closely tied to the Republican president since she launched her political career five years ago. <\/p>\n In her video Friday, she underscored her longtime loyalty to Trump except on a few issues, and said it was \u201cunfair and wrong\u201d that he attacked her for disagreeing.<\/p>\n \u201cLoyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district\u2019s interest, because our job title is literally \u2018representative,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Greene swept to office at the forefront of Trump\u2019s MAGA movement and quickly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill<\/a> for her often beyond-mainstream views. In her video Friday, Greene said she had \u201calways been despised in Washington, D.C., and just never fit in.\u201d<\/p>\n As she embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and appeared with white supremacists, Greene was initially opposed by party leaders but welcomed by Trump. He called her \u201ca real WINNER!\u201d<\/p>\n Yet over time she proved a deft legislator, having aligned herself with then-GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who would go on to become House speaker. She was a trusted voice on the right flank, until McCarthy was ousted in 2023.<\/p>\n While there has been an onslaught of lawmakers from both parties heading for the exits ahead of next fall\u2019s midterm elections, as the House struggles through an often chaotic session, Greene\u2019s announced retirement will ripple throughout the ranks \u2014 and raise questions about her next moves.<\/p>\n Greene was first elected to the House in 2020<\/a>. She initially planned to run in a competitive district in northern Atlanta\u2019s suburbs, but relocated to the much more conservative 14th District in Georgia\u2019s northwest corner.<\/p>\n The opening in her district means Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will have to set a special election date within 10 days of Greene\u2019s resignation. Such a special election would fill out the remainder of Greene\u2019s term through January 2027. Those elections could take place before the party primaries in May for the next two-year term.<\/p>\n Conspiracy-minded<\/p>\n Even before her election, Greene showed a penchant for harsh rhetoric<\/a> and conspiracy theories, suggesting a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas was a coordinated attack to spur support for new gun restrictions. In 2018, she endorsed the idea that the U.S. government perpetrated the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and mused that a \u201cso-called\u201d plane had hit the Pentagon.<\/p>\n Greene argued in 2019 that Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., both Muslim women, weren\u2019t \u201cofficial\u201d members of Congress because they used Qurans rather than Bibles in their swearing-in ceremonies.<\/p>\n