Report: Marjorie Taylor Greene Didn’t Inform Speaker Johnson Before Announcing Her Resignation – Leaving GOP’s Slim Majority in Jeopardy
Report: Marjorie Taylor Greene Didn’t Inform Speaker Johnson Before Announcing Her Resignation - Leaving GOP’s Slim Majority in Jeopardy
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reportedly blindsided Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) by announcing her resignation without giving him any advance warning.
Greene stunned Washington on Friday night when she revealed she will step down from Congress on January 5, 2026. She said the decision was driven by her desire to avoid what she called a “hateful primary” next year — a race she expects would be fueled by a Trump-backed challenger after the former president pulled his endorsement over her push to release the Epstein files.
“I have too much self-respect and dignity, and I love my family far too much to put them through a brutal primary,” Greene said. “I don’t want my district to suffer through a nasty fight against the very president we worked so hard to elect, only for Republicans to lose the midterms anyway.”
Shortly after Greene’s announcement, NBC News reporter Melanie Zanona relayed that Greene did give Johnson advanced notice of her imminent departure from the House, which Republicans control 219 to 213.
“MTG did not give Speaker Mike Johnson a heads up about her shocking resignation, per a source with knowledge,” Zanona posted on X. “Her abrupt departure from Congress in January will make Johnson’s job even more difficult, given the GOP’s already slim margins.”
When there is a congressional vacancy in Georgia, state law mandates that the governor set a special election date that occurs not less than 30 days from the time of the vacancy. Greene represents a deep red district, so the seat is highly unlikely to be flipped, but it will remain vacant for a period of time yet to be determined. So in the meantime, one fewer Republican in the House could pose potential problems for Johnson.
Moreover, at this moment, there are three vacancies in the House, two of which are in largely Democratic districts.
Tennessee will hold a special election on Dec. 2 to fill the vacancy in the mostly Republican seventh congressional district.
Texas will hold a special election runoff between two Democrats on Jan. 26 to fill the seat left vacant by former Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-TX), who represented the 18th congressional district until died in March.
And on April 16, New Jersey will hold a special election to fill the seat in the 11th district that was held by former Rep. Mikie Sherill (D-NJ), who just resigned after being elected governor of New Jersey.
