CHATSWORTH, Ga — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene built her career as one of Donald Trump’s fiercest defenders.

Now, after a dramatic turn against the president she once championed, she’s walking away from a Washington that she said “despised” her.

What comes next for her — and for Georgia politics — is suddenly wide open.

For five years, she embodied the combative edge of Trump’s MAGA movement. But after a bitter breakup with the president who once called her a “future Republican star,” Greene is stepping into a new and unpredictable phase of her political life when she leaves office in January.

Her exit revived speculation that she could reconsider a run for governor or U.S. Senate — contests she previously dismissed. And while both seem unlikely, particularly a bid to take on Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff given her disdain for the Senate, allies caution that nothing is fully off the table.

Others believe she’s looking beyond next year’s midterm, potentially positioning herself for a 2028 presidential bid. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has long said her ambitions extend far beyond Congress, though Greene has dismissed talk of a White House bid.

And her recent appearances on “The View” and HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” have fueled talk that she might be testing the waters for a media role, following the path of other politicians-turned-pundits who seek influence far beyond Washington.

Then there’s the chance her departure could mark a real pause from politics after a tenure defined by controversy and conflict that made her one of the most recognizable — and most polarizing — politicians in the nation. Some friends, however, see that as the unlikeliest path.

“With her passion and determination, I would not count her out of politics at all,” said Salleigh Grubbs, the first vice chair of the Georgia GOP. “In fact, I am sure there will be a refocus and plan in Georgia. Whatever her future, I know she’s committed to America First politics.”

Some residents in her congressional district expressed a kind of shrugging uncertainty.

Marc Carpenter, out for a stroll Saturday in downtown Chatsworth with his wife, Penny, said Greene’s departure has dominated every conversation.

“No one knows what’s going to happen now. It’s the next show of the circus. And whatever happens happens.”

‘Bigger than her’

Greene’s allies insist she would have remained the favorite in her deep-red district even without Trump’s backing.

Georgia Republicans have repeatedly supported incumbents over Trump-endorsed challengers, and two GOP contenders won open U.S. House seats in 2022 despite Trump endorsing their rivals.

Trump on Saturday again branded her “Marjorie Traitor Brown” and accused her of betrayal because he ignored her “never ending barrage of phone calls.” But her departure is far more complicated than his portrayal.

When she captured the deep-red northwest Georgia seat in 2020, Greene pledged to be an unwavering supporter of Trump and the “worst nightmare” for Democrats. Her first days in Congress would set the tone: She wore a “Trump Won” mask at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately embraced a confrontational style that defined her tenure.

But fissures started sharpening during his second term.

She blamed a “good ‘ole boy system” for endangering Republican control of Georgia and dissuading her from seeking higher office, became the first Republican in Congress to accuse U.S. ally Israel of perpetrating a “genocide” in Gaza and joined Democrats to champion an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The breaking point with Trump centered on her demands for the disclosure of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Greene said “sent him over the edge.”

Trump formally ended their relationship last week with a barrage of insults, including calling her “wacky” and a vow to back a primary challenger. Still, amid withering pressure from the base, Trump signed legislation to release the Epstein documents.

Over the last week, Greene was largely quiet as she considered her next steps. She privately told friends she was torn about staying, though few considered she would resign with a year left on her term, narrowing the GOP’s slim edge in the chamber.

Critics, meanwhile, see her departure as a sign of instability heading into the 2026 cycle. Dennis Futch of the Colquitt GOP in South Georgia said Greene’s resignation is a reminder that the MAGA movement isn’t about personalities but “restoring sanity to government.”

“MTG walked away from that mission. Trump didn’t,” he said. “That’s the difference. Whatever she does next — Senate, governor, whatever stunt she’s planning it won’t change the fact that the MAGA movement is bigger than her and will outlast her.”

Some Democrats saw an opening.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat running for governor, told ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that he would welcome her.

“I can put the crazy aside and bring her under the tent,” the congressman told Kimmel on Friday.

‘Still processing it’

Greene’s stunning announcement also instantly opened a vacuum in one of the nation’s most conservative strongholds. Though lawmakers recently tweaked her district to include a diverse swath of deep-blue Cobb County precincts, Greene won nearly two-thirds of the vote in 2024.

Republican state Sen. Colton Moore, whose views are so extreme he was ousted from the Senate GOP caucus, and Dr. John Cowan, a neurosurgeon who lost to Greene in 2020, are each considering runs.

Other Republican contenders could include Clayton Fuller, the district attorney for a swath of counties in the district; and Matt Sawhill, a utility executive and Rome native with deep roots in Georgia politics. But local leaders caution it’s early.

“It’s a huge shock. I don’t know of anyone who saw this coming. A lot of Republicans in the district like her, and many citizens are shocked and saddened by the news,” said Paulding County GOP chair Ricky Hess. “People are still processing it, so conversations about who might be next really haven’t begun.”

As for Greene, she’s staying quiet about what’s ahead — aside from saying she had no path forward in today’s Washington.

“It’s all so absurd and completely unserious,” she said of her situation. “I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”

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