America First firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was seemingly entering the line of fire Nov. 4 when she chose to appear on "The View," the nation's No. 1 daytime talk show, a must-watch among liberal women entering midlife.

"We are joined by someone you might be surprised to see here," Oscar winner and "View" moderator Whoopi Goldberg said during an Election Day episode Nov. 4.

The Georgia congresswoman – who represents a rural, predominately white district an hour and a half outside downtown Atlanta – then entered stage right and sat down at the show's infamous "Hot Topics" table.

The "View" fire turned out to be friendly. "You are a very different person than I thought," leftist lawyer Sunny Hostin said during a bout of praise. Greene entered the U.S. House in 2020 with a colorful past, cast by the media as a kooky conservative conspiracy theorist who wanted to take on the Democrats and the drag queens.

A former loyal ally of President Donald Trump, the pair's relationship fizzled recently after Greene spent the better part of Trump's first year back in office bashing fellow Republicans in Congress and bucking House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Trump revealed he viewed her "View" turn as a final act of defiance, lashing out at Greene in a Truth Social post. "She has gone Far Left, even doing The View," Trump wrote Nov. 14. Greene's time in Congress once filled with a bright Make America Great Again future took a different turn than expected when she announced her resignation Nov. 21.

"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, formerly Twitter. "I will be resigning from office with my last day being Jan. 5, 2026."

A daughter of northwest Georgia

Raised 40 minutes north of Atlanta, Greene was heiress to a family construction company started by her dad Robert D. Taylor. She graduated from South Forsyth High School and the University of Georgia in Athens. She married ex-husband Perry Greene in 1995 while both were studying at UGA.

The Greenes helped take over her dad's construction business and welcomed three children: two daughters Lauren and Taylor and a son, Derek. Greene became a local fitness guru, opening a gym CrossFit Passion with a business partner in August 2013.

When Trump took office the first time, Greene was blogging on American Truth Seekers, widely considered a conspiracy news website. "MUST READ – Democratic Party Involved With Child Sex, Satanism, and The Occult," a September 2017 headline said. "Republicans FAIL AGAIN!!!" another news item read the same month.

Greene saw an opportunity for herself as Trump cemented his unlikely rise to power in the White House.

In 2019, during Trump's re-election campaign, Greene announced her bid to run against Rep. Lucy McBath in a suburban Atlanta, later swapping districts to run in the friendlier 14th after former Rep. Tom Graves announced his retirement from the House of Representatives.

Greene ran on putting "people over politicians." In one video released by her campaign, she worked the drive-thru at brunch spot The Biscuit Box, handing out meals in paper bags to passengers and refilling empty coffee cups inside. "Save America, stop socialism," she said in unison with wait staff and kitchen workers.

In another July 2020 ad, Greene draped an American flag over her shoulders, following a montage of cities ablaze and a photo of Black pro football players protesting during the national anthem. "They're burning our cities and destroying our history," Greene said. "America is the greatest country on earth and I'm running for Congress to keep it that way."

In Congress, Greene found few friends or fellowship

Greene was elected to Congress in November 2020, defeating her Democratic opponent by nearly 50 points.

Already garnering national attention amid accusations of promoting fringe QAnon conspiracies, Greene's first major move in the House was rejecting certification of the 2020 election results. "We will be raising objections to the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden for multiple states," she told Fox News.

"I refuse to certify a stolen election. It is the duty of Congress to secure the integrity of our elections," Greene wrote Dec. 30 of that year on X. "On Jan. 6th, I will #FightForTrump." After insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, she stood by Trump as he was cast aside by some in his own party.

The Democratic-led House then removed Greene from her committee assignments in February the following year, citing offensive social media behavior from before she became a lawmaker. 11 Republicans joined every other Democrat in voting to remove Greene from the Education & Labor Committee and the Budget Committee.

Her antics continued in Congress. She found little fellowship in the House outside of Trump foe Rep. Thomas Massie, embracing embattled ex-Reps. Matt Gaetz and George Santos while exiling former frenemy Rep. Lauren Boebert. Her personal life fell apart, too. Perry Greene filed for divorce in 2022.

"Marjorie has been my best friend for the last 29 years and she has been an amazing mom," he said in a statement at the time. "Our family is our most important thing we have done. As we go on different paths we will continue to focus on our 3 incredible kids and their future endeavors and our friendship."

Marjorie Taylor Greene passed on running for U.S. Senate

She made national headlines last May for mocking the false eyelashes of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who in turn called her a "bleach blonde bad built butch body." The congressional hearing clash delighted Democrats.

Greene also found new love with Brian Glenn, the chief White House correspondent for far-right news source Real America's Voice.

And in Congress, she stayed the course, winning re-election twice and taking aim at colleagues like Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the nation's first Muslim congresswomen. Greene also stayed close to Trump, attending rallies and raving about him on social media and reveling in his 2024 election win.

Earlier this year, Greene passed on running in next year's Senate race against freshman U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia. "I'll be blunt: the elites don't speak for the people of Georgia who would walk through fire for President Trump," Greene said in May. "The political consultants embedded in the White House don't know Georgia like I do."

Greene became more combative, roiling her own party with her pit stop on "The View." She annoyed Trump fans with her choice to appear on the daytime talker, which boasts outspoken Trump critic Joy Behar and first-term Trump spokeswoman Alyssa Farah Griffin, who resigned after Jan. 6, as co-hosts.

But Greene wore ruby red for her spot on "The View," the same color of the MAGA caps she flaunted atop her head for a half-decade to showcase an undying devotion to Trump. "I do love him," Greene said on "The View."

"Women to women, we need to pave a new path," Greene told the panel. "This country, our beautiful country, our red, white and blue flag, is just being ripped to shreds, and I think it takes women of maturity to sew it back together." Two weeks later, she voted to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, irritating Trump whose faced renewed scrutiny for his past friendship with the convicted child sex offender.

Greene goes back to real life

Her relationship with Trump himself exploded. "All I see 'Wacky' Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" Trump wrote on social media Nov. 14.

"It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance," he continued. She had hopes of fixing things up after getting dumped by Trump.

"I certainly hope that we can make up," Greene told CNN's Dana Bash on Nov. 16 when asked if there was potential for a path forward. "I can only speak for myself. I'm a Christian, and one of the most important parts of our faith is forgiveness, and that's something I'm committed to."

And then on a sleepy Friday in northwest Georgia, Greene resigned from Congress. "Through it all, I never changed or went back on my campaign promises and only disagreed in a few areas," Greene said in a 10-minute-long video Nov. 21, flanked by a beige couch, arguing that "loyalty should be a two-way street."

She sparred with Trump on issues including the Epstein files and American involvement in foreign wars, Greene continued, but "other than that my voting record has been solidly with my party and the President."

"It's all so absurd and completely unserious. I refuse to be a 'battered wife' hoping it all goes away and gets better," Greene added. On Jan. 5 next year, Greene will go back to real life, away from the halls of the House.

She will see the kids more and can go on dates with Glenn, away from Washington's glare. Greene can drink from the coffee cups she once poured for her neighbors in northwest Georgia, away from those she is irritated by and who irritate her. And Greene won't really say if she plans to run for president in 2028.

How did Greene go from mainstream MAGA to just MTG? Is it that she felt scorned from being forced to skip the Senate run? Is it that Congress is no place for a person with a real life?

Or did Greene, now a woman of maturity, just grow up?

(This story has been updated with new information.)

Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Michael Loria, Sarah Wire

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene resigns from Congress to live full life

Reporting by Jay Stahl, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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