Influential right-wing United States lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday that she is resigning from Congress, one week after former President Donald Trump withdrew his support for the Georgia Republican. Her last day in office will be Jan 5, 2026.

In a video posted online, the 51-year-old congresswoman, elected in 2020, said she had “always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in”.

Greene added she did not want her supporters and family 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”.

The resignation marks the clearest sign yet of a growing rift in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which has been shaken by strong Democratic victories in this month’s off-year elections, including the leftist New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who met with Trump earlier on Friday.

Greene’s break with Trump appeared linked to his flip-flop on releasing emails connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a wealthy financier, had cultivated ties with elite politicians, business leaders, academics and celebrities, and was accused of trafficking girls and young women for sex.

Greene referenced the affair in her resignation speech.

“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said.

Trump, in a phone interview with ABC News, described Greene’s resignation as “great news from the country”, adding that she had not given him notice but “it doesn’t matter … I think she should be happy”.

Earlier this week, Congress passed and Trump signed a law requiring government records on Epstein to be made public, after months of the former president attempting to block their release.

Before reversing his position, Trump had withdrawn all support for Greene, whom he dubbed “Wacky Marjorie”, and attacked her on Truth Social as a “lightweight” and “traitor” to the Republican Party. Greene subsequently reported receiving a wave of threats.

A prominent MAGA ally, Greene had championed Trump’s agenda, advocated for immigrant deportation, gun rights, and vaccine scepticism.

The rupture comes amid criticism of Trump over the US cost of living and the Epstein scandal. Greene’s departure sparked speculation she may run for president in 2028, which she dismissed as “baseless gossip”.

In her resignation speech, Greene highlighted her loyalty to Trump and the Republican Party. She said she “fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans”, spending “millions” of her own money.

Greene also contrasted herself with “establishment Republicans who secretly hate him and who stabbed him in the back”. She emphasised, “My voting record has been solidly with my party and the president. Loyalty should be a two-way street.”