Shockwave in the G.O.P.: As Trump’s Grip Tightens, Greene’s Exit Fuels Speculation of a 2028 Challenge

By Jonathan Weisman and Maggie Haberman Washington — Nov. 26, 2025

WASHINGTON — The Republican Party, still basking in the afterglow of its sweeping victories last year, was jolted this week by a seismic rupture in its populist core. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Georgia conservative who once embodied the unyielding loyalty of the MAGA movement, announced on Friday that she would resign her House seat in January, just days after qualifying for a federal pension. The move, coming amid a bitter public feud with President Donald J. Trump, has ignited whispers of a potential 2028 presidential bid — a prospect that has blindsided White House aides and sown seeds of rebellion among the party’s right flank.

Ms. Greene’s departure is more than a personal grievance; it is a symptom of deepening fissures within the G.O.P. as Mr. Trump enters the final years of his second term. Once hailed as a “warrior congresswoman” by the president himself, Ms. Greene has evolved into a vocal critic, railing against what she calls the “political industrial complex” that she says has corrupted the party’s populist soul. Her resignation statement, posted on X (formerly Twitter), decried a lack of “two-way loyalty” in Washington, a thinly veiled jab at Mr. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“I’m not motivated by power and titles,” Ms. Greene wrote. “I’m motivated by fixing the crises plaguing our country — crises that the elites refuse to address.” Yet even as she downplays presidential ambitions, her odds on prediction markets like Polymarket have surged to 6 percent for the 2028 Republican nomination, vaulting her to third place behind Vice President JD Vance (55 percent) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (8 percent).

The speculation reached a fever pitch after a Time magazine report on Saturday, citing four sources familiar with her thinking, revealed that Ms. Greene had privately confided to allies her considerations of a White House run. By Sunday, Ms. Greene was pushing back forcefully in a lengthy X post, denying the report and attaching a screenshot of the article. “I’m not running for president and never said I wanted to,” she insisted. “I’ve only laughed about it when anyone mentions it.”

Her denial did little to quell the chatter. On X, supporters and detractors alike dissected her words, with some MAGA die-hards hailing her as the “true heir to Trumpism” and others decrying her as a “traitor” echoing the president’s own barbs. One viral post from a conservative account claimed Republicans had “confirmed” an independent run, complete with fabricated images of Ms. Greene at a campaign podium. Prediction markets, often a barometer of elite sentiment, reflect the intrigue: Ms. Greene’s jump from obscurity to contender status underscores how quickly fortunes shift in Trump’s orbit.

At the White House, the announcement landed like a grenade. Aides to Mr. Trump, who only last month withdrew his endorsement of Ms. Greene and branded her “Marjorie Traitor Greene,” were caught off guard, according to three people briefed on internal discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private deliberations. The president, in a brief ABC News interview on Friday, shrugged off the news with characteristic nonchalance: “I think it’s great news for the country. She should be happy.” But behind closed doors, the mood was darker. Mr. Trump’s inner circle fears Ms. Greene’s exit could embolden a faction of ultraconservatives disillusioned by the administration’s pragmatic turns on issues like health care affordability and the recent government shutdown aversion.

The feud traces back to a series of flash points. Ms. Greene, long a Trump loyalist who defended him through two impeachments, began diverging this year over foreign policy — particularly Mr. Trump’s handling of the U.S.-Israel relationship — and domestic priorities. Her most explosive break came in pushing for the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files, a cause she championed alongside survivors and unlikely allies like Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie. Mr. Trump initially resisted, citing national security concerns, prompting Ms. Greene to accuse him of protecting the elite. “Loyalty should be a two-way street,” she tweeted in October, a line that would become her resignation mantra.

This rift has broader implications for the MAGA coalition. Ms. Greene’s brand of raw populism — anti-establishment fervor mixed with conspiracy-tinged rhetoric — galvanized the party’s base during Mr. Trump’s rise. But as the administration settles into governance, with compromises on spending bills and immigration enforcement, her criticisms resonate with a growing chorus of purists. On X, hashtags like #TrueMAGA and #Greene2028 trended over the weekend, with users posting montages of her fiery House floor speeches. One prominent conservative podcaster, Tim Pool, speculated on his show that Ms. Greene could siphon votes from Mr. Vance in a primary, fracturing the Trump succession plan.

Political strategists see power plays at work. “She’s positioning herself as the uncorrupted populist,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster who has advised past presidential campaigns. “By leaving now, she avoids the taint of another shutdown fight and builds a donor network outside the party machine.” Ms. Greene’s recent media blitz — appearances on “The View,” where she sparred amiably with hosts over abortion and Epstein, and HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” — has softened her image for moderates, earning praise as “strategically savvy” from analysts. Rumors even swirl of a pivot to television, perhaps a co-host slot on “The View,” as a launchpad for national visibility.

Yet skeptics abound. CNN commentator Shermichael Singleton, a veteran of Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, dismissed her prospects: “Her future in politics is over. This is media ecosystem territory now.” Democratic leaders, sensing opportunity, are already fundraising off the G.O.P. chaos. “Trump’s house of cards is crumbling from within,” said Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a longtime party elder.

For Ms. Greene, 51, the path ahead is murky. Born in Milledgeville, Ga., she parlayed a background in CrossFit gyms and QAnon-adjacent social media into a 2020 congressional upset, becoming the face of Trump’s insurgent wing. Her tenure was marked by expulsions from committees, censure resolutions and unapologetic defenses of the Jan. 6 rioters. But recent months have shown reinvention: advocacy for Epstein victims, critiques of Big Pharma’s influence on health policy and calls for fiscal restraint that irk Wall Street donors.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Washington buzzes with what-ifs. Will Ms. Greene mount a quixotic challenge, forcing Mr. Vance to defend the Trump legacy? Or is this the end of a turbulent chapter, a retreat to private life or punditry? In a party defined by loyalty oaths and vendettas, her next move could redefine the battle lines for 2028.

One thing is clear: The shockwave from Georgia has reached Pennsylvania Avenue, reminding Mr. Trump that even in victory, the MAGA rebellion he unleashed may yet turn on him. As Ms. Greene put it in her resignation post, “Open your eyes and focus on real actions.” For the G.O.P., that may be the hardest advice to heed.