Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she issued a warning to White House aides after being threatened over her support of legislation that would force the release of files associated with the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
“I told them, ‘You didn’t get me elected. I do not work for you; I work for my district,’” the Georgia Republican told The New York Times in a recent interview.
Newsweek reached out to Greene and the White House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Greene is among four Republicans who have signed a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on GOP Representative Thomas Massie’s bipartisan legislation to release the so-called Epstein files. Greene and Republican Representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace have indicated they won’t remove their names despite pressure from the White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Trump administration has faced backlash since the Department of Justice said in July that it would not be releasing more records about Epstein despite previous promises to do so. Trump had expressed support for releasing the files on the campaign trail, but is now dismissing the matter as a “Democrat hoax.”
Meanwhile, Greene has long been among Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, and while she has avoided criticizing the president directly, her stance on the Epstein files, as well as other issues, including the war in Gaza, reflects her increasing disillusionment with the Republican Party as well as the growing rift in the MAGA movement.
What To Know
Greene told The New York Times that she called a top White House aide after a Trump official put out a statement that any Republican support for the petition would be viewed as a “hostile act.”
“We aren’t supposed to just be whipped on our votes because they’re telling us what to do with this scary threat, or saying ‘We’ll primary you,’ or that we won’t get invited to the White House events,” Greene said. “Me personally? I don’t care.”
When she encountered such tactics from Trump’s team, she said, “I’m like, ‘[Expletive] you.’”
It’s not the only issue where she has broken with Trump and her party.
In July, Greene became the first Republican to call Israel’s action in Gaza a genocide. A United Nations committee report and other experts have said Israel’s offensive amounts to genocide, which Israel has vehemently denied.
Greene told the Times that she did so because “you can’t un-see dead children.”
“I spoke to several Christian pastors,” she said. “They’re saying this is really a genocide, innocent people are being killed. That was easily enough for me.”
Earlier this year, Greene also criticized Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, writing on social media that she can support the president “and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started.”
What People Are Saying
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Saturday on X: “The obsession over the Epstein files and fighting about it should not be happening and needs to end. But it’s only an issue in the news because it has become a political fight and it should not be one. My name is staying on the discharge petition and I will dive into the Oversight committee investigation just as I do with every investigation.”
In another post, she suggested that her life could be at risk due to her positions.
Greene wrote: “I am not suicidal and one of the happiest healthiest people you will meet. I have full faith in God and Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. As a sinner, I am only saved through His grace and mercy. With that said, if something happens to me, I ask you all to find out which foreign government or powerful people would take heinous actions to stop the information from coming out. Not only about this issue, but because of the truth that I have been speaking.”
President Donald Trump, earlier this month on Truth Social: “The Department of Justice has done its job, they have given everything requested of them. It’s time to end the Democrat Epstein Hoax, and give the Republicans credit for the great, even legendary, job that they are doing.”
What Happens Next
Massie’s petition is just one signature away from reaching the threshold to force a vote on the bill to require the Justice Department to publicly release the Epstein files. Democrat Adelita Grijalva’s recent victory in a special election in Arizona means the petition could soon reach the required threshold.
But if a vote is held, the legislation would still need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by Trump.
