How Greene left Congress after becoming a Maga loyalist
How Greene left Congress after becoming a Maga loyalist
One of Donald Trump's most ardent supporters when she entered Congress was Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Greene, who took office a few days prior to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, backed the president and reiterated his claim that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" when many Republicans rejected him.
After being called a "traitor" by the man she once looked up to, Greene will now depart Congress five years later.
Greene broke with Trump in the most dramatic way in a few of months.
The final rift started over Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted paedophile with ties to the powerful and wealthy. Earlier this year, Greene had criticised Trump's decision to launch airstrikes on Iran, his support for Israel during the Gaza War, and a lack of adequate regulation of large technology companies.
She stood with Epstein's victims and Democrats to demand a House vote on the issue, denouncing Trump's refusal to require his justice department to fully reveal its files on the case.
But it didn't stop there.
Along with questioning Republican tactics during the current government shutdown, Greene joined Democrats in urging her party to address the expiration of low-income Americans' healthcare subsidies.
She publicly chastised Trump for what she claimed was an excessive focus on foreign policy at the expense of tackling issues related to affordability and the economy.
She wrote earlier this month on X, "Foreign wars or bailouts for other countries aren't motivating the American people." "They want leaders who show up, do the job, and fight for them every single day!"
Greene persisted in claiming to support Trump, but it became more obvious that her perspective on the "America First" campaign was different from the US president's.
An activist-turned-congresswoman who gained notoriety by criticising the political establishment discovered that the "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement she backed had morphed into the establishment.
Additionally, she made a few farewell remarks as the weight of Trump's power concentrated on her removal.
"I refuse to be a 'battered wife' hoping it all goes away and gets better," she wrote in her letter of resignation.
"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."
She frequently welcomed controversy and leaned towards conflict throughout her career.
She worked as a gym instructor in Georgia before getting involved in politics in 2016, the same year that Trump launched his victorious presidential campaign. She frequently travelled to Washington, DC, to criticise Democratic lawmakers for what she perceived to be their pro-Islamic and socialist stances.
She questioned whether school massacres in the United States were "staged" and claimed that a gang of powerful paedophiles secretly controlled the Democratic Party, both of which were unfounded QAnon conspiracy theories.
She had disagreements with both Democrats and members of her own party while she was in Congress. Shortly after taking office, the House voted to remove her from her committee responsibilities despite her renunciation of some of her previous conspiratorial beliefs.
She had a kind of political rehabilitation when Republicans took back control of Congress, collaborating with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to strengthen conservative support inside the body. Following McCarthy's removal, Greene clashed with Mike Johnson, his successor, and made an unsuccessful attempt to remove Johnson as well.
She was kicked out of the conservative House Freedom Caucus in 2023.
She had turned into a political wild card, still hated by many on the left but suspicious of conservatives as well. Her impact in Washington came from her very tight relationship with Trump.
Then she didn't.
Trump described Greene's exit from Congress as "great news for the country" in a quick Friday night interview with ABC News.
Greene "went bad," but he would "always appreciate Marjorie and thank her for her service to our country," he would later write on Truth Social.
Greene stated that she will take a "new path ahead" and go back to her Georgia home. She recently declared that she would not run for governor of the state or try to topple Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, despite having apparently indicated interest in the position next year.
She may, however, decide to alter her mind and run for office in a state where Republican lawmakers, such as the current governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, have demonstrated that it is possible to win elections even without Trump's support. Her resignation will take effect on January 5.
As the Republican Party struggles with a situation where public support for Trump, especially his handling of the economy, seems to be waning and the president will never again be on a presidential ballot due to constitutional limitations, the move also gives Greene the opportunity to reposition herself politically.
Although Greene's time in Congress may be coming to an end at the age of 51, her involvement in American politics may not end there.
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