Politicians shocked by Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise resignation announcement | Marjorie Taylor Greene

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise resignation from Congress Friday night, saying she refused to be a “beaten wife” following her public fallout with Donald Trump, was criticized by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman and Greene’s frequent sparring partner.

“She is carefully planning her departure just 1-2 days into her pension,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement on her Instagram account, criticizing her record on voting on health care.

Greene abruptly resigned from Congress, effective Jan. 5, in a 10-minute video outlining her displeasure with Republicans on issues including the release of Jeffrey Epstein files in the government’s possession, U.S. funding of foreign conflicts, Trump’s decision to potentially support a candidate against her, and the cost of living and health care.

After her service to Trump, she said she opposed being “expected to defend the president from impeachment after he unleashed tens of millions of dollars on me and tried to destroy me.”

“I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ and hope that everything goes away and everything gets better,” Greene said.

But Ocasio-Cortez said Greene “says a lot, but her ACTIONS have not backed up the rhetoric. Despite all her speeches, she STILL votes with them to destroy health care…”

Greene voted this summer in favor of Medicaid cuts and reduced enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, but then criticized ACA cuts in October as premiums skyrocketed.

Ocasio-Cortez also reiterated some of her criticisms of stocks Greene purchased earlier this year before Trump announced he was suspending the tariffs. Greene has denied any impropriety in his stock trading.

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who has also taken a public stand against Trump, including over the release of the Epstein files, said on X that he was “very sad for our country but so happy for my friend Marjorie. I’m going to miss her dearly.”

Massie added that Greene “embodies what a true representative should be. Everyone should read her statement; there is more honesty expressed in these four pages than most politicians will say in a lifetime.”

Early Saturday, Trump also reacted to Greene’s announcement, posting on Truth Social that “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown” had decided to call it quits due to “plummeting poll numbers and her refusal to face a primary challenger with strong Trump support (where she would have no chance of winning!)…”

Trump also said Greene’s political relationship with Massie “didn’t help her.”

“For whatever reason, mainly because I refused to answer her incessant barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” he added. “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie and thank her for her service to our country! »

But Trump later told NBC News that he would like to see Greene resume her political career.

“It’s not going to be easy for her” to revive her political career, he said, adding: “I would love to see that.” In the meantime, “she needs to rest a little”.

Barbara Comstock, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives and Trump critic, praised Greene’s decision on social media. “She doesn’t want to be a Republican ‘beaten wife’ who endures abuse from Trump, receives death threats, and pretends everything is fine only to end up in the minority. Good for her,” Comstock posted.

Greene’s decision to leave Congress came shortly after another twist unfolded at the White House between Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who spoke of their shared commitment to the future of the nation’s most populous city.

Trump, who has in the past called Mamdani a “100 percent communist nutcase” and a “total weirdo,” said he was impressed by the man who called his administration “authoritarian” and said he expects a productive relationship.

“I expect to help him, not hurt him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after a private meeting Friday afternoon that lasted less than an hour. “Because I want New York to be great.”

Mamdani said he appreciated that in their meeting they “focused not on the areas of disagreement, of which there are many, but also on the common goal we have to serve New Yorkers.”

Both said they shared ideas about affordability and new housing development in the city. “Some of his ideas are really the same as mine,” the president said of Mamdani on inflationary issues.