Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has always had a reputation for being one of the most outspoken members of her party – prepared to voice what others felt but were often too scared to say.
So it is no surprise that after she announced her decision to quit politics this week, blaming the actions of President Donald Trump for her decision, there are already rumblings that other Republicans may soon follow.
While no one else has taken the leap yet, reports are emerging that many are set to do so, presenting a crisis for Trump and Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
One senior House Republican told Punchbowl News: “More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinderbox. Morale has never been lower… This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage.”
Of course, it is not uncommon for disgruntled politicians to vent anonymously to the media. But the remarks underscored the poor morale among Republicans, with divisions and fractures already exposed.
The unnamed individual even said that Johnson could suffer sufficient defeats to see him lose his role.
Johnson, who was elected Speaker two years ago, has done everything he can to keep Trump happy, prioritising the President’s wishes ahead of congressional colleagues. This decision may be coming home to roost.
In particular, Johnson went out of his way to prevent the release of material relating to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who had ties to Trump.
This month, Greene was among only four Republicans in the House – the others being Nancy Mace, Thomas Massie and Lauren Boebert – who voted with Democrats to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Trump eventually caved in to the pressure and told Republicans to support the measure. The bill passed 427-1 in the House, unanimously in the Senate, and was signed into law.
Midterms traditionally deliver a blow to the party holding the White House, and Republicans are expected to lose control of Congress next November.
Yet even before Greene broke ranks, exposing the disgruntlement of many in MAGA not just over Epstein but Trump’s focus on foreign affairs over the cost of living, Republicans were already low on enthusiasm.
A record 47 congressional lawmakers have said they will not seek re-election, with many blaming the increasingly toxic nature of politics. Of those, 27 are Republicans. A number said they had received death threats.
The assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk while he spoke at a rally in Utah in September stunned many on the left and right. Republican Tim Burchett, a congressman from Tennessee, told Axios: “It takes a toll on people.”
The falling-out between Greene and Trump has been felt by many in the party.
For years, the 51-year-old from Georgia was among Trump’s most hardcore supporters, championing him in the aftermath of his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, even when it looked like many Republicans were poised to move on to Florida governor Ron DeSantis as their standard bearer.
Which made the split even more notable. When Greene criticised Trump’s foreign policy decisions this summer, and condemned his refusal to release the Epstein files, Trump attacked her in personal terms. He then dropped his endorsement of her re-election bid and called her a “ranting lunatic”.
After Punchbowl News reported that more Republicans could quit in her wake, Greene said the report was correct.
“Fact check true,” Greene wrote on X. “Myself and many of my colleagues came courageously roaring into 2025 with legislation that matched the 2024 electoral mandate only to be totally sidelined by Johnson under full obedience of the WH [White House].”
Republicans have a thin margin in the House – 219 seats to 213 – meaning they can only survive a few defections. It is possible the situation could get a lot worse before it gets any better for them.
Next week, Tennessee is set to hold a special election to replace congressman Mark Green, a Republican who resigned in July. Trump won his district by more than 22 percentage points last November, but polls show the race between Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps to be close.
Democrats, trying to seize the momentum from better-than-expected election results earlier this month in New York, Virginia and New Jersey, are hoping to pull off another upset.
Trump’s poll numbers across the US are at an all-time low. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll put his approval rating at 38 per cent, with support among Republicans falling from 87 per cent earlier this month to 82.
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If this continues, Trump’s party could lose not just in Tennessee, but also a contest in Houston later this year and one in New Jersey in April.
This could cause the cracks in MAGA and the Republican Party to turn into gaping holes.
None of this is certain. Yet if Greene’s warnings are correct, Trump and his allies could be looking at major humiliations over the coming period. And Trump would have no one to blame but himself.
