A bitter public split has opened between former President Donald Trump and one of his once-staunchest allies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), as Congress prepares for a high-stakes House vote on whether to release thousands of documents tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The fight escalated this week after Greene, one of a small number of Republicans who pushed to discharge a petition forcing a House floor vote to make the Epstein files public ,accused Trump of working to block the release and of attacking her personally to intimidate other Republicans ahead of the vote. Greene said the files are being sought on behalf of Epstein’s victims and argued transparency is necessary.
Trump answered with unusually sharp public criticism, branding Greene a “traitor,” a “disgrace,” and at times a “ranting lunatic,” and announcing he was withdrawing his endorsement of her — even saying he would consider backing a primary challenger in her Georgia district. The former president’s posts and comments have driven the feud into the open and deepened divisions inside the GOP.
Greene says the backlash has included threats to her safety. She told reporters and posted on social platforms that private security firms warned her after what she described as the “egg-on” rhetoric from the top of the Republican movement and that she is taking threats seriously as a woman in the public eye. Greene and some of her supporters assert Trump’s attacks are intended to frighten other Republicans away from supporting disclosure.
Republican leaders and conservative media have reacted in different ways: some have sided with Trump’s concerns about political fallout and confidential materials, while a smaller group of GOP lawmakers — including Greene, Rep. Lauren Boebert and a few others — joined Democrats in pushing for the discharge petition that would force a House floor showdown. Advocates for release say the public has a right to see the records; opponents warn about sensitive material and partisan exploitation.
Analysts say the dispute exposes a growing rift in the MAGA coalition. Greene’s break with Trump underscores that loyalty within the movement is not unshakeable, especially on an issue that touches on high-profile allegations and reputational risk for powerful figures. If Trump follows through on backing a primary challenger, the spat could reverberate beyond Greene’s district and signal how Trump plans to police the GOP fold heading into the 2026 midterms.
House members are expected to vote on the discharge petition and related motions soon; the outcome will determine whether the fuller set of Epstein-related materials is debated and potentially made public. The immediate political consequence is the public test of whether Republican lawmakers will follow Trump’s lead or heed the handful of GOP members pressing for transparency and whether intraparty discipline will survive a very public falling out.
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