Trump critic to resign from Congress

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Conservative influencer Laura Loomer said Greene’s departure from Congress would hinder Trump’s agenda ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. “He wants the Democrats to win,” Loomer X said on his social platform.

Greene was one of Trump’s most vocal and visible supporters. “Make America Great Again” policyand adopted some of his unapologetic political style.

His break with him was a notable rift in his grip on conservatives, especially his most ardent base. But his decision to resign in the face of Trump’s opposition put him on the same path as many of the more moderate establishment Republicans who fell out with Trump before him.

“My life is filled with happiness and my true beliefs remain unchanged because my self-worth is determined by God, not a man,” said the congresswoman, who recorded the video announcing her resignation while sitting in her living room with a cross necklace in her hand, a Christmas tree and a peace lily behind her.

Greene has been closely linked to the Republican president since she began her political career in 2020.

In the video, he underlined his long-standing loyalty to Trump on all but a few issues and said it was “unfair and wrong” for Trump to attack him for disagreeing.

“Loyalty should be a two-way street, and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent the interests of our district because our job title is literally ‘representative,’” he said.

Greene came to office at the forefront of Trump’s MAGA movement and quickly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill for her often-beyond-the-mainstream views. Greene said in her video that she was “always looked down upon in Washington D.C. and never fit in.”

Greene, who has embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and emerged alongside white supremacists, was opposed by party leaders but welcomed by Trump. Call him “a real WINNER!” he said.

But over time, he proved to be a masterful legislator, siding with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who later became speaker of the House of Representatives. McCarthy was a trusted voice on the right until he was ousted in 2023.

As the House grapples with an often chaotic session as lawmakers from both parties race for the exit ahead of next fall’s midterm elections, Greene’s announced retirement will reverberate across the board and raise questions about her next moves.

Greene was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2020. He initially planned to run in a competitive district in the northern Atlanta suburbs, but moved to the much more conservative 14th District in Georgia’s northwest corner.

The opening in his district means Republican Gov. Brian Kemp will have to set a special election date within 10 days of Greene’s resignation. Such a special election would include party primaries and a general election to fill the remainder of Greene’s term through January 2027. These elections could be held before party primaries in May for the next two-year period.

Even before her election, Greene was prone to harsh rhetoric and conspiracy theories, suggesting that the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas was a coordinated attack to drum up support for new gun restrictions. In 2018, he supported the idea that the US government carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks, and thought a plane “supposedly” hit the Pentagon.

He was once a sympathizer of QAnon, an online network that believes a global cabal of Satan-worshiping cannibals, including U.S. government leaders, is operating a child sex trafficking ring. He eventually distanced himself from her, saying he “got carried away by some of the things I saw on the internet.”

When Trump was out of power between his first and second terms, Greene often became a proxy for his views and brash style in Washington.

As then-President Joe Biden was delivering his 2022 State of the Union address, Greene stood up and began chanting “build the wall,” a reference to the U.S.-Mexico border wall that Trump launched during his first term.

Last year, when Biden delivered his final State of the Union address, Greene once again stole the spotlight as she confronted Biden about border security and the illegal killing of a Georgia nursing student by an immigrant in the country.

Wearing a red MAGA hat and a T-shirt featuring Riley, Greene handed the president a button that read “Say Her Name.” The congressman then shouted this at the president in the middle of his speech.

But this year, her first stint in the White House alongside Trump, cracks slowly began to appear in her steadfast support; Then it started to open completely.

Greene’s discontent dates back at least to May, when she announced she would not run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff and lashed out at GOP donors and advisers who feared she wouldn’t win.

Greene’s uneasiness increased in July when she announced she would not run for governor of Georgia.

He was also fed up with the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill working in concert with the president.

Greene said in her video that “the legislature has been mostly sidelined” and bills “have been sitting gathering dust” since Republicans took unified control of Washington in January.

“That’s the case with most of the bills members of Congress have,” he said. “The speaker never puts them on the floor for a vote.”

Greene said Republicans will likely lose the midterm elections next year and will then be “expected to defend the president from impeachment after he poured tens of millions of dollars into me with hate and tried to destroy me.”

“This is all ridiculous and completely frivolous,” he said. “I refuse to be a battered wife hoping for everything to be over and heal.”

AP, Reuters

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