Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has long been one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent and vocal supporters. It was just last year that Greene, clad in a “Make America Great Again” hat, interrupted former President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech amid heightened tensions between the Democrats and Republicans on border policy matters. Greene has thrown full support behind Trump on a variety of topics, from the Jan. 6, 2021 riots and his campaign to return to the White House to his crackdown on immigration.
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But their alliance was shattered over the weekend when Trump publicly withdrew his support and endorsement for Greene after they clashed over the debate of whether Congress should release the full files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Greene, in a break from some of her former Republican allies, has avidly campaigned for their release and has thrown her support behind the Epstein survivors. Trump has, by contrast, referred to the whole matter as a “Democrat hoax,” although he pivoted on Sunday by urging the GOP to vote to release the Epstein files as his party has “nothing to hide.” This came after newly-surfaced Epstein emails last week alleged that Trump knew of his former friend’s conduct—a claim he has long denied and rebuked.
“[Greene] has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but… I can’t take a ranting lunatic’s call every day,” said Trump. “I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my complete and unyielding support.”
Trump went on to call Greene a “traitor” and “disgrace” to the Republican Party.
Greene, in turn, accused Trump of lying about her and on Saturday said she had been “contacted by private security firms with warnings” for her safety, as “a hot bed of threats” were being levied against her, “fueled and egged on by the man I supported and helped get elected.
Having previously voiced support for QAnon right-wing conspiracy theories, Greene went on to apologize for the role she herself has played in “toxic politics” over the years.
“I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country,” she told CNN, adding: “It’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.”
While the fallout over calls to release the Epstein files has severed Greene and Trump’s former alliance in a significant way, it appears to be far from the only cause of the rift between them.
Greene has strayed from Trump on a number of high-profile issues as of late, publicly opposing—or distancing herself from—some of his core tenets. The Representative notably referred to the 43-day government shutdown as “a you-know-what measuring contest” between men in power.
Here’s how else Greene has splintered from the MAGA directive:
Greene attempts to ban H1B Visas, despite Trump defending them
The Georgia Representative has voiced heavy criticism of H1-B visas, which allow for “the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.” Specifically, nonimmigrant workers with specialized qualifications are allowed to work in the U.S.
As a vocal critic of the program, Greene last week introduced a bill to ban the permit in all sectors, whilst phasing out those on the visa in medical sectors.
“Ending H1B visas will also help the housing market. Ending H1B visas mean more jobs available for Americans and more homes available for Americans,” urged Greene.
Doubling down on her criticism on Friday, Greene—citing Fox News data that TIME has been unable to independently verify—said: “Our own people are being pushed out of tech, medicine, and every major industry… America has the most talented people in the world, and I will ALWAYS fight for them.”
Despite enacting some restrictions on H1-B visa requirements in September, Trump showed recent support for the program.
When pushed on if the visa restrictions would be a priority for his Administration during a Fox News interview last week, Trump said: “You do have to bring in talent,” arguing that some talent needs to be acquired outside of the U.S.
Greene highlights the cost of living crisis and rising price of groceries, in direct contrast to Trump
Greene has strongly voiced concerns over the high cost of living facing Americans, directly disagreeing with Trump’s assessment that there is no inflation impacting American shoppers.
“I go to the grocery store myself, grocery prices remain high, energy prices are high,” said Greene in an interview with CNN on Nov. 7. The lawmaker claimed the price of her energy bills in both Washington, D.C. and her native Georgia were higher when compared to last year.
“Affordability is a problem… When I go back home and talk to many of my constituents, I’m hearing stories of not only ‘we are having a really hard time affording groceries and rent,’ but I’m also hearing stories about people maxing out their credit cards just to afford their monthly expenses,” said Greene.
Trump, on the other hand, has long argued that the financial burden on Americans has improved under his Administration.
“Cost, and inflation, were far higher under the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration than they are now. In fact, costs under the Trump Administration are tumbling down,” said Trump on Friday, referring to the GOP as “the Party of Affordability.”
Greene pleas for the Trump Administration to focus more on domestic policy rather than foreign policy
Greene has long criticized the U.S. funding of allies in conflicts, particularly in relation to the Russia-Ukraine war, which started in 2022.
Earlier this year, Greene introduced amendments to “strip billions in foreign aid” from the Defense Appropriations Bill. “America is $37 trillion in debt. Our people are broke and cannot afford the cost of living… Congress sends your money to every foreign war and foreign country like it’s their job,” argued Greene, adding that she wants a “Department of Defense that puts America first.”
All of her amendments failed to get enough votes to pass in the House.
Greene doubled down in November, saying that although she has supported Trump “from the very beginning,” she’s of the mindset that “the American people aren’t motivated by foreign wars or bailouts for other countries. They want leaders who show up, do the job, and fight for them every single day.”
At the White House on Nov. 11, Trump responded to Greene’s comments, suggesting she has “lost her way.”
“I don’t know what happened to Marjorie… I have to view the Presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. ”We could have a world that’s on fire, where wars come to our shore very easily… When somebody like Marjorie goes over and starts making statements like that, it shows she doesn’t know.”
Foreign intervention, described by the White House as ‘leading with peace through strength” has been a key element of the Trump Administration, with the President claiming to have stopped eight wars.
Greene and Trump have also clashed over their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
“I continue to condemn what happened on Oct. 7 and at the same time I continue to condemn the genocide/ethnic cleansing happening in Gaza. And, I condemn America being used as the big brother bully and bankrolling it,” said Greene in September, prior to the cease-fire.
Greene raises concern over rising health care premiums—and calls out Republican leadership
Although Greene and Trump have both criticized the Biden Administration’s handling of health care items, the former has called out Republican lawmakers for what she sees as a lack of an alternative to the matters being fought for by the Democrats. (The Democrats held out for 43 days during the shutdown as they demanded an extension of the Obamacare—Affordable Care Act—tax credits that are set to expire at the end of this year. They failed to get their demands after some Democrats broke with the party line and voted with the GOP to end the government shutdown.)
Greene has voiced concern over the expiration of the tax credits, citing that her own adult children could see their health care costs double, “along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.”
Admitting she is “disgusted” by the prospect of costs doubling, Greene said she thinks that health care insurance as a whole is a “scam.”
Following a Republican House conference call in late October, Greene “demanded’ to know from Speaker Mike Johnson what the plan would be to replace the Obamacare tax credits, after saying “not a single Republican in leadership” has aptly addressed the concern.
“Johnson said he’s got ideas and pages of policy ideas and committees of jurisdiction are working on it, but he refused to give one policy proposal to our GOP conference,” claimed Greene.