WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump on suggested Saturday that Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene had decided to quit Congress in order to avoid a Trump-backed primary challenge.

On his social media site Truth Social, Trump called the congresswoman a traitor and claimed she was stepping down because of “PLUMMETING Poll Numbers” and “not wanting to face a Primary Challenger with a strong Trump Endorsement (where she would have no chance of winning!).”

Rep. Greene, a Republican representing Georgia’s 14th District and a longtime Trump ally, announced Friday that she will leave the House of Representatives on Jan. 5. She cited a feud with the president over her supporting a push to force the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, along with frustration with what she called the “Political Industrial Complex” in Washington.

Trump again criticized Greene’s backing for the Republican who sponsored the bill demanding the Epstein files’ release, saying: “Her relationship with the WORST Republican Congressman in decades, Tom Massie of Kentucky … did not help her.”

“For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” he added.

Despite the barbs, Trump closed his post with a note of thanks, saying: “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”

Trump on Wednesday signed the bill requiring the Justice Department to release all of the files related to Epstein, after both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure. A few days earlier, he had changed his stance to favoring the bill, with some commentators saying he did not want to be seen as losing the battle when the bill got majority support from fellow Republicans.

The move follows weeks of intense political fighting about how far to go in disclosing records tied to Epstein. The release could include the names of some of the highest-profile figures in politics, entertainment, and business, with some – such as former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers – already retreating from public life “deeply ashamed,” in his own words.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. He pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2008 of procuring a minor for prostitution.

Speaking to US media later Saturday, Trump said “it’s not going to be easy” for Greene to have a political future after breaking with him, but left the door open to a possible reconciliation, saying he could “patch up differences with anyone.”

In her resignation statement, Greene said she did not want her district to endure a “hurtful and hateful primary” backed by the president and accused Trump of “hatefully” spending tens of millions of dollars against her, adding: “I refuse to be a ‘battered wife’ hoping it all goes away and gets better.”