Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said she warned White House aides after receiving threats over her support for legislation that would force the release of files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
“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.
Why It Matters
Greene is one of four Republicans who have signed a discharge petition aimed at forcing a floor vote on GOP Representative Thomas Massie’s bipartisan legislation to release the so-called Epstein files. Greene, along with Republican Representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace, has said she will not remove her name despite pressure from the White House and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Trump administration has faced criticism since the Department of Justice announced in July that it would not release additional Epstein records, despite earlier assurances. Trump had supported releasing the files during his campaign but now dismisses the matter as a “Democrat hoax.”
Greene has long been a staunch ally of Trump in Congress, but her positions on the Epstein files and other issues, including the war in Gaza, reflect her growing disillusionment with the Republican Party and the expanding rift within the MAGA movement.
What To Know
Greene told The New York Times that she contacted a top White House aide after a Trump official released a statement suggesting 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.”
She added that when confronted with such tactics from Trump’s team, her reaction was blunt: “I’m like, ‘[Expletive] you.’”
Greene has also broken with Trump and the party on other issues. In July, she became the first Republican to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. Reports from a United Nations committee and other experts support this classification, which Israel denies.
Greene told the Times, “You can’t un-see dead children. I spoke to several Christian pastors. They’re saying this is really a genocide, innocent people are being killed. That was enough for me.”
Earlier this year, Greene criticized Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, stating 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
On X, Greene wrote: “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.”
She also warned that her positions could put her at risk: “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, said: “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 one signature away from reaching the threshold to force a vote on legislation requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files publicly. Democrat Adelita Grijalva’s recent special election victory in Arizona could help the petition reach the necessary threshold.
Even if a vote is held, the bill would still need Senate approval and Trump’s signature to become law.
