Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced that she is resigning from Congress, saying the loyalty she’s given to President Trump and the Republican Party has not been returned and she refuses to be a “battered wife.”
Ms. Greene explained her decision late Friday in a 10-minute video posted to social media.
“I love my family way too much, and I do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president that we all fought for – only to fight and win my election, while Republicans will likely lose the midterms and in turn, be expected to defend the president against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me,” she said.
“It’s all so absurd and completely unserious,” Ms. Greene added. “I refuse to be a battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better.”
Ms. Greene, 51, does not plan to finish out her term but will stay through the end of the year. Her resignation will take effect Jan. 5, the day before the House is set to return to Washington after the holidays.
“I have never valued power, titles or attention, in spite of all the wrong assumptions about me,” the third-term representative said. “I do not cling to those things because they are meaningless and empty traps that hold too many people in Washington.”
Ms. Greene said her only goal has been to hold the Republican Party accountable and ensure it delivers the promises made to its voters. She’s found it to be an uphill battle.
“My bills, which reflect many of President Trump’s executive orders, like calling for a new census, counting Americans only to draw new districts; making English the official language of the US; making it a felony to medically trans a minor; and other bills, like eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of your primary home and eliminating H 1b visas, just sit,” she said. “They all sit, collecting dust.”
Mr. Trump announced last weekend that he was withdrawing his endorsement of Ms. Greene. She said the president did so because of her push to force the Justice Department to release its case files on Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, 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,” she said.
The president, in a social media post on Saturday, said Ms. Greene is resigning “because of PLUMMETING Poll Numbers, and not wanting to face a Primary Challenger with a strong Trump Endorsement (where she would have no chance of winning!).”
“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,” Mr. Trump said. “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!”
Ms. Greene expressed frustration that she spent years traveling the country to help Mr. Trump and Republicans get elected only to end up in their crosshairs.
“I spent millions of my own money,” she said. “I missed precious time with my family that I can never get back.”
Mr. Trump told ABC News that Ms. Greene resigning is “great news for the country.”
The president said she did not give him a heads up, but “it doesn’t matter.”
“I think she should be happy,” he said.
Ms. Greene asserted in her video that she is happy, even though Mr. Trump’s attacks were “hurtful.”
“My true convictions remain unchanged, because my self worth is not defined by a man, but instead by God, who created everything in existence,” she said.
Despite recent assertions to the contrary, Ms. Greene said her voting record is solidly aligned with Mr. Trump and the GOP. She said her disagreements with them were minimal, like her stance against U.S. involvement in foreign wars, H-1B visas, 50-year-mortgages and banning states from regulating artificial intelligence.
“Loyalty should be a two way street, and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interests,” she said.
Ms. Greene said “the political industrial complex of both parties is ripping this country apart.”
When “common Americans” band together and exert their power to stop it, she said, “then I’ll be here by their side to rebuild it.”
“Until then, I’m going back to the people that I love, to live my life to the fullest, as I always have,” Ms. Greene said. “And I look forward to a new path ahead.”
