NEED TO KNOW

• Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the Iran strikes “the worst betrayal” from “the very man and the admin who we all believed was different”
• Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul joined Greene in opposing the strikes, while Sen. Lindsey Graham celebrated “the end of the largest state sponsor of terrorism” and Sen. John Fetterman crossed party lines to back Trump
• The White House has called Greene a “former congresswoman, traitor, and a quitter” — language Trump himself used in December when he called her ideas “those of a very dumb person”

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) unleashed a nearly 700-word broadside against President Donald Trump on Saturday, calling the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran the worst betrayal of the MAGA movement and accusing the administration of breaking its core campaign promise to end America’s cycle of foreign wars.

“Thousands and thousands of Americans from my generation have been killed and injured in never ending pointless foreign wars and we said no more. But we are freeing the Iranian people. Please.” — Marjorie Taylor Greene

“There are 93 million people in Iran, let them liberate themselves. But Iran is on the verge of having nuclear weapons. Yeah sure. It’s always a lie and it’s always America Last.” — Marjorie Taylor Greene

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Greene — once one of Trump’s most visible allies who spent millions of her own money campaigning for him — did not stop at foreign policy. She connected the strikes to domestic failures, asking whether war with Iran would lower inflation, fix healthcare or help American families survive.

“Does war with Iran fix our healthcare system and make health insurance affordable for Americans?? No war with Iran does not do that and the MAGA admin and Republicans aren’t even working on it in any serious way at all.” — Marjorie Taylor Greene

“But it feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more. Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what?” — Marjorie Taylor Greene

The MAGA Fault Line

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Greene’s post was the sharpest salvo yet in a fracture that has been widening since the first U.S. strikes on Iran in June 2025. But she was far from alone Saturday.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) condemned the operation within hours, framing his opposition in constitutional terms rather than ideological ones.

“I am opposed to this War. This is not ‘America First.’ When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.” — Rep. Thomas Massie

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) went further, invoking the Founders to challenge the constitutional authority behind the strikes.

“The Constitution conferred the power to declare or initiate war to Congress for a reason, to make war less likely. Madison wrote that ‘the Executive Branch is the branch most prone to war, therefore, the Constitution, with studied care, delegated the war power to the legislature.'” — Sen. Rand Paul

Paul added that while his “first and purest instinct” was to wish American soldiers safety, his oath was to the Constitution, and he must “oppose another Presidential war.”

The strikes were launched without congressional authorization. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress — not the president — the power to declare war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the Gang of Eight in an hourlong session on Tuesday and called members again shortly before bombs fell, connecting with seven of the eight. The Armed Services Committees were notified after the strikes began.

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) had been preparing a House vote on a resolution to restrict Trump’s ability to take unilateral military action against Iran — but the strikes landed before it could reach the floor. A similar bipartisan measure in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Paul, is also pending. Kaine called on the Senate to return immediately.

“These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives. Every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action.” — Sen. Tim Kaine

The Other Side of the Split

Republican leadership rallied behind Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) commended the strikes, saying Iran’s nuclear ambitions and support for terror groups posed “a clear and unacceptable threat” to U.S. interests. He added that “despite the dogged efforts of the president and his administration, the Iranian regime has refused the diplomatic off-ramps that would peacefully resolve these national security concerns.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was effusive.

“My mind is racing with the thought that the murderous ayatollah’s regime in Iran will soon be no more. The biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years is upon us.” — Sen. Lindsey Graham

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed confidence the operation would achieve its goals.

In one of the day’s more unexpected statements, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) crossed party lines to back the operation.

“Operation Epic Fury. President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.” — Sen. John Fetterman

Not all Democrats were as supportive. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and a Gang of Eight member who was briefed by Rubio, was blunt.

“Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame.” — Rep. Jim Himes

Trump’s Own Words

The contradiction at the center of the split predates Greene’s break with Trump. During the 2016 Republican primary, Trump himself built his candidacy partly on criticizing the Iraq War in terms Greene now echoes back at him.

“We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives. We don’t even have it. Iran is taking over Iraq with the second-largest oil reserves in the world. Obviously it was a mistake. George Bush made a mistake. We can make mistakes. But that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq.” — Donald Trump, 2016

Greene shared that clip on X just two days before the strikes, writing: “This is the Trump I supported, the man who called out the truth about the WMD in Iraq and declared NO MORE FOREIGN WARS. Now for some unknown reason, Trump has joined the neocons and will soon go to war against Iran with the same BS excuses. End of MAGA.”

The White House did not engage with her policy arguments. Spokesperson Davis Ingle responded Thursday: “President Trump is the unequivocal leader of the Republican party. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a former congresswoman, traitor, and a quitter.”

Trump himself had been harsher in December, writing on Truth Social that Greene’s ideas are “those of a very dumb person” and that she “reminds me of a Rotten Apple.”

What Comes Next

The bipartisan war powers push is now the most concrete test of whether the MAGA split translates into legislative action. Massie and Khanna’s House resolution and the Kaine-Paul Senate resolution are both privileged measures — meaning they are guaranteed floor votes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has already backed the effort.

The question is whether the handful of Republican dissenters will vote with Democrats on a war powers resolution or fall in line. When the first Iran strikes happened in June 2025, Steve Bannon captured the tension: “We don’t like it. Maybe we hate it. But, you know, we’ll get on board.” Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul offered a different frame.

“Trump is now the ‘neocon’ that he has ridiculed for all of his public life. Trump has just openly called for regime change in Iran. He is using the American armed forces to facilitate that outcome. This is a complete reversal of what he has been promising his supporters for decades.” — Michael McFaul

When the president’s most loyal supporters use his own campaign promises to oppose his actions, does the resulting fracture signal the movement is holding its leader accountable — or that the coalition was always built on contradictions its members chose not to see?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from Newsweek’s coverage of Greene’s post, Newsweek’s White House response report, NPR’s congressional reaction report, Fox News’ Massie-Democrat opposition coverage, ABC News’ congressional reactions roundup, The Hill, PBS News, and NPR’s Greene-Trump split analysis.

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