U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an early ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda, is planning to resign from office in January.

"I'm going back to the people I love, to live life to the fullest as I always have, and look forward to a new path ahead," she wrote on the social platform X. "I will be resigning from office with my last day being Jan. 5, 2026."

Greene’s move to resign from the House of Representatives comes amid an ongoing feud with Republican Party leadership - particularly Trump - over the release of files related to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Greene, who represents Georgia’s 14th Congressional district, notably broke ranks to force a vote on a bill to release the Epstein files ahead of fellow Republicans.

"I’ve always represented the common American man and woman as a member of the House of Representatives which is why I’ve always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in," Greene said in a statement posted on X, adding that she was disappointed in the pushback she faced in Congress and legislators failure to meaningfully improve the lives of her constituents.

"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."

Trump says Americans should be happy Greene is resigning. "I think it's great news for the country. It's great," ABC News quoted Trump as saying in an interview.

"Nah, it doesn't matter, you know but I think it's great. I think she should be happy," Trump said when asked if Greene had given him a heads up.

A clash between Greene and Trump

Trump's back-and-forth spat with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reached a fever pitch in recent days when the president withdrew his endorsement of the Georgia Republican and assigned her a nickname – an act typically reserved for his fiercest political rivals.

“All I see 'Wacky' Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" Trump wrote on social media, in reference to concerns Greene floated about his focus on foreign policy, the government shutdown and controversy surrounding accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Greene came to Congress with a reputation for supporting the conspiratorial QAnon movement. Sworn in just days before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, she has been an outspoken supporter of theories that the 2020 president election was stolen.

The Georgia representative was the most outspoken advocate for forcing the Department of Justice to release its investigative files on Epstein, the late alleged sex trafficker, even though Trump − a former friend of Epstein's − opposed the measure. At a Sept. 3 press conference, she framed the issue around sexual abuse, good versus evil, and what she called Epstein’s powerful “cabal.”

Greene grew up outside of Atlanta and has three grown children, whom she often references in policy discussions about the next generation. For years, she was a part-owner of the construction company her father started in northwest Georgia.

Heartbroken reactions

Jackie Harling, chairman of the Walker County Republican Party in Greene’s district, fell to tears when she heard the news. Walker has known Greene since 2021 and says she’s not just liked in her district but loved.

“The people of northwest Georgia lost a fighter today but we did not lower her because she failed us,” Harling told USA TODAY. “We lost her because the swamp could not handle a strong woman who tells the truth and refuses to bow to the uniparty.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who is friends with Greene and has sponsored many bills with her, said he's sad for the country but happy for his friend.

"I’ll miss her tremendously," Massie wrote on social media. "She embodies what a true Representative should be. Everyone should read her statement; there’s more honesty expressed in these four pages than most politicians will speak in a lifetime"

Rep. Ro Khanna, a liberal Democrat and the lead sponsor on the bill to release the Epstein files, praised Greene's "courageous stand" for women who survived abuse by Epstein.

“No one should pay a price for putting the will of the people over Trump’s political machine,” Khanna said.

Why is Greene resigning?

Greene announced her resignation in a lengthy four-page statement that skewered Congress for being beholden to monied interests instead of the concerns of everyday Americans.

"No matter which way the political pendulum swings, Republican or Democrat, nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman. The debt goes higher. Corporate and global interests remain Washington’s sweethearts," said Greene, laying additional blame on "illegal labor," "big corporations" and "foreign interests."

"The average American family can no longer survive on a single bread winner’s income as both parents must work in order to simply survive. And today, many in my children’s generation feel hopeless for their future and don't think they will ever realize the American dream, which breaks my heart."

Green, who represents a district in the northwest corner of Georgia, was elected to office in 2020 on a wave of populist support. Since then, she has become known as one of the Congress’ most outspoken members but until recently has been a close supporter of Trump.

In months of TV appearances, she’s taken on men in her own party and the president who inspired her to run for office. She broke with GOP leadership to help force a vote in Congress to release the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files, in direct defiance of President Donald Trump.

And when Trump came crashing down on her in an 11th-hour pressure campaign, she didn’t buckle. He denounced Greene as a "traitor," using words she said "could radicalize people and put my life in danger."

What else does Greene say about her resignation?

Greene said in her X post that “I missed precious time with my family that I can never get back." She said she had to leave her mother's side while her father was having brain surgery to remove a cancer in order to go to Congress and vote against Trump's impeachment.

"My self-worth is not defined by a man but instead by God, who created everything in existence," Greene said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene announces resignation after feud with Trump

Reporting by Michael Loria, Erin Mansfield and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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