By Joshua Rhett MillerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberRepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene timed her resignation from Congress to receive a hefty pension partially funded by taxpayer contributions, critics claim.
The Georgia Republican, who was first elected in 2020, announced in a video Friday that she intends to resign in January following public clashes with President Donald Trump, signifying an end to her once-outspoken role as a Make America Great Again (MAGA) loyalist.
Greene, 51, said she had “fought harder than almost any other” Republican to elect Trump while traveling the country for years and spending “millions” of her own money. But detractors insist she had been motivated by other factors, including a federal pension that could ultimately eclipse $250,000.
“The timing matters more than people may realize,” the National Taxpayers Union Foundation said in a statement Saturday. “Under federal law, members of Congress qualify for a pension, funded in part with taxpayer contributions, only after completing five full years of service.”
...Greene, who took office in January 2021, said January 5, 2026, will mark her final day in Congress, translating to 1,829 total days of service—or five years and three days to narrowly meet the eligibility threshold.
“Her pension would start at $8,717 [annually] at age 62, and based on actuarial data, could total more than $265,000 over her lifetime,” NTUF’s statement continued.
Members of the Federal Employees Retirement System qualify for a full, deferred pension upon turning 62 if they’ve completed at least five years of service, NTUF officials said.
“Because Greene entered Congress after 2013, she falls under the standard FERS pension formula for members,” the statement continued. “Her pension is based on three factors: how long she served in federal roles, the average of her highest three years of salary (“high-3”), and an accrual rate of 1 percent per year.”
Rank-and-file members receive $174,000 annually, an amount that has remained unchanged for years because Congress repeatedly has voted down cost-of-living adjustments, leading to a lawsuit by several former members that could ultimately cost taxpayers $70 million, according to NTUF.
In 2036, Greene will become eligible for a starting annual pension of $8,717 upon reaching age 62 under the FERS formula. Because she divorced in 2022, it’s unclear if the standard spousal-annuity reduction will apply to her benefit, but her estimated pension amount is lower than average, according to available Congressional Research Service data compiled by NTUF.
Greene’s projected lifespan is about 85 years based on the Social Security Administration’s calculations for a woman her age as of today, NTUF noted.
“If she begins collecting her pension at age 62 in 2036, she could receive benefits for an additional 23 years,” NTUF’s statement continued. “Assuming an average 2% annual cost-of-living adjustment, her total lifetime payout would exceed $265,000. That amount could be higher or lower depending upon actual inflation over time. Under a law enacted in 2004, members are not able to opt out of FERS.”
The Washington-based taxpayer advocacy group recently estimated that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, who announced this month she won’t seek reelection to Congress when her term expires in January 2027, will receive an annual pension starting at nearly $108,000—among the highest available under FERS guidelines.
The timing of Greene’s resignation also prompted criticism from Trump ally Laura Loomer.
“It’s all about the money for her,” Loomer posted on X late Friday. “Always has been. She’s doing this for the money. Expect to see her portfolio explode between now and January 2026. Marjorie TRADER Greene.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York who has frequently clashed with Greene, also criticized the outgoing lawmaker.
“She’s carefully timing her departure just 1-2 days after her pension kicks in and after making millions of dollars insider trading stocks for weapons manufacturers and others while in office,” Ocasio-Cortez said Friday on Instagram. “She is saying a lot, but her actions have not backed up the rhetoric. For all her talk, she’s still voting with them to gut health care and advance self-dealing corruption schemes.”
Trump said in a statement Saturday that Greene decided to resign because of “plummeting poll numbers” and her potential primary challenger, who would have his endorsement. He also criticized her relationship to Representative Thomas Massie, characterizing the Kentucky lawmaker as the “worst Republican” congressman in decades.
“For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went bad,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Saturday. “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our country!”
...Messages seeking comment from Greene and her spokesman were not immediately returned Monday. In a lengthy post on X, she shot down reports citing anonymous sources who claim she plans to run for president in 2028.
“I’m not running for president and never said I wanted to and have only laughed about it when anyone would mention it,” Greene wrote early Sunday on X.
Running a presidential campaign requires extensive travel nationwide, fundraising of hundreds of millions of dollars and arguing politics to the “point of exhaustion,” as well as a lack of a personal life and a schedule that would be detrimental to her health, Greene said.
“The fact that I’d have to go through all that but would be totally blocked from truly fixing anything is exactly why I would never do it,” she wrote. “And most importantly, I’m not the kind of person who is willing to make the deals that must be made in order to be allowed to have the title. Again, I’m not motivated by power and titles.”
Greene’s net worth, which includes majority ownership of her family’s commercial construction business, has reportedly increased from $700,000 in 2021 to as much as $25 million as of October, GOBankingRates reported.
Greene’s pension, meanwhile, will be dwarfed by that of Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, who could reportedly receive up to $154,720 per year if he leaves Congress after more than 50 years under the Civil Service Retirement System, which predates the Federal Employees Retirement System.
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