US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she was resigning from the House of Representatives in the wake of a dramatic falling out with President Donald Trump.
Her exit marks a stunning turn of events that few would have imagined months ago.
Ms Greene, a Republican from Georgia, was once one of Mr Trump's closest allies and an outspoken advocate of his "America First" agenda, but the rift between the two widened in recent months over the release of government files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other matters.
In a ten minute video posted on social media, Ms Greene said she was spurred to resign by the prospect of having to face a Mr Trump-backed Republican primary challenger and the potential takeover of the House by Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.
She also complained that Congress has largely been "side lined" since Mr Trump returned to the presidency in January.
"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," Ms Greene said.
Interviewed by ABC News, Mr Trump said Ms Greene's resignation, to take effect on 5 January, was "great news for the country. It's great."
Ms Greene lamented the state of American politics, contending that neither Republicans nor Democratic politicians were working to solve the nation’s problems, including the rising cost of living.
She said voters were tuning out Washington because "they know how much credit card debt they have, they know how much their own bills have gone up over the past five years, they actually do their own grocery shopping and know food costs too much, their rent has increasingly gone up, they have been outbid by corporate asset managers too many times when they put in an offer to buy a house."
The public dispute between President Trump and Ms Greene had fuelled concerns among some Republicans that Mr Trump's "Make America Great Again" base could fracture a year before the midterms, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress.
Ms Greene's resignation will narrow the Republican majority in the House to 218 members over the Democrats' 213. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
She had been increasingly exhibiting her independence from Mr Trump, joining a House effort to force the release of the Epstein files over his objections, blasting House leadership for not doing more to address healthcare costs during the recent government shutdown and calling Israel's assault on Gaza a genocide.
Mr Trump, in turn, became more critical of her.
Before the House voted overwhelmingly to release the Epstein files, he called her a "traitor" and "disgrace" to the Republican Party. He withdrew his support for her and called her a "ranting lunatic."
Greene says ordinary Americans being 'cast aside’
In her video, Ms Greene defended her Epstein vote.
Ms Greene said she was proud of her conservative voting record, adding, in a swipe at Mr Trump, that "loyalty should be a two-way street."
Her ally in the House, Representative Thomas Massie, posted on X that Ms Greene "embodies what a true representative should be."
Barbara Comstock, a former Republican House member and a President Trump critic, lauded Ms Greene's decision on social media.
Ms Greene won her northwest Georgia district with 64% of the vote in 2024.
Residents there said this week they hoped her rift with Mr Trump would soon heal and expressed a willingness to support both of them. But Ms Greene made clear yesterday that she had no interest in sparring with a Mr Trump-backed opponent.
Even if she prevailed, she said, she likely would be in the House minority after the midterms and would have to defend Mr Trump in impeachment proceedings, a situation she called "absurd" and "completely unserious."
"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 said.
