Marjorie Taylor Greene's Next Move? What Polls Tell Us

By Giulia Carbonaro

Senior Housing Reporter

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It is yet unclear what the future holds for hard-right Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said on Friday night that she has plans to resign after a series of recent clashes with President Donald Trump—including over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

But Greene’s transformation from MAGA loyalist to MAGA rebel is the first sign that the movement rotating around the president is starting to show some cracks—and much of its significance could depend on what Greene does next.

Newsweek contacted Greene’s office by email on Sunday outside of standard working hours for comment.

Why Is Greene Planning To Resign?

Greene, who was elected to Congress in 2020 and has made herself known for her often-provocative views and explosive politics, has long been one of the most devoted Trump supporters in the Republican Party.

This, however, has started to change in recent months, when the Georgia congresswoman became a harsh critic of her own party on several issues going from the government shutdown to health care, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, artificial intelligence and Israel-Hamas. Things further escalated after Trump labeled her a “traitor” for her insistence on the release of the Epstein files and said he would support a challenger to unseat her.

“I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better,” Greene said in an 11-minute video on Friday night announcing her plans to resign in January. She added that she did “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.”

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Trump responded to the announcement by saying during an ABC news interview that it was “great news for the country,” although he then seemed to offer Greene an olive branch.

“For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never-ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”

What Is Likely To Happen After That?

The latest clash with Trump, who still dominates the GOP, leaves Greene in a political limbo, shunned by her own party and unlikely to swap sides.

One thing is sure: Greene will walk away from Georgia’s 14th District after one year in her two-year mandates, opening the seat for her replacement.

But we know little yet of what the high-profile Republican will do next—whether she will chase another bigger role in politics or not. The Washington Post highlighted that Greene is waiting to officially resign for January 5, two days after she will reach the five-year threshold required to qualify for a lifetime congressional pension.

In her resignation speech, however, Greene has not ruled out a future in politics. News media have talked about the likelihood of the 51-year-old running for state office—even for the state Senate or for Georgia governor—or even throwing her name in for the 2028 presidential election.

An October poll by Quantus Insights looking at the Republican primary for Georgia’s gubernatorial race did not include Greene’s name, seeing instead state Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones lead with 32 percent of the vote over Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Attorney General Chris Carr, Clark Dean and Ken Yasger. Thirty-seven percent of voters polled, however, were still undecided—which could represent an opportunity for Greene.

In recent polls about a potential state Senate race in 2026, Greene was behind both Brian Kemp and U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff. An April poll by the Trafalgar Group gave her 36.5 percent of the vote against Ossoff’s 48.3 percent.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll from May gave Greene 37 percent of the vote against Ossoff’s 54 percent in a hypothetical head-to-head race between the two, while Ossoff and Kemp were locked in a near dead heat with, respectively, 46 percent and 49 percent of the vote. On Saturday, Trump said in a brief phone interview with NBC that he would “love to see” Greene revive her political career, although he said “it’s not going to be easy for her.” Instead, he said the congresswoman “got to take a little rest.”

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